North Dakota Secures $27.8M Final Federal Payment for DAPL Protest Costs

North Dakota has secured a final settlement of $27.8 million from the federal government for costs incurred during the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests, according to state officials. Combined with a previous $10 million payment, the state’s total recovery now amounts to nearly $38 million.

The settlement resolves a long-running lawsuit where North Dakota sought reimbursement for law enforcement, emergency response, and cleanup costs from the 2016-17 demonstrations. State Attorney General Drew Wrigley announced the agreement this past week, according to a report by Bing News.

State officials argued that North Dakota taxpayers should not have borne the financial burden of the protests. The emergency response lasted more than 230 days and involved 178 response agencies from multiple counties, resulting in 761 arrests, according to the source.

The Dakota Access Pipeline transports crude oil from the Bakken formation in North Dakota to Illinois. The project drew international opposition a decade ago, with protesters from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and allies arguing the pipeline threatened water supplies and sacred sites.

The protests began on April 1, 2016, with the establishment of the Sacred Stone Camp. The movement culminated in a December 2016 decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deny a key easement, a move later reversed after President Donald Trump took office and directed the Corps to expedite the project. Remaining protest camps were cleared by late February 2017.

Despite the intense opposition, the pipeline was completed and entered service in 2017. It has since been a critical piece of infrastructure for moving Bakken crude to market.

For Bakken operators and the state's oil industry, the settlement represents a final resolution to a major fiscal liability stemming from the pipeline's construction. The reimbursement closes a chapter on the significant state expenses related to securing the infrastructure project.

In a statement following the settlement, Wrigley credited the work of his office and the efforts of former Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who pursued the reimbursement before his death in 2022. The funds will be returned to state coffers.