North Dakota Secures $28M Federal Payout for DAPL Protest Costs

North Dakota will receive approximately $28 million from the federal government to cover costs incurred during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, according to a settlement announced Thursday. The payout finalizes a nearly seven-year-old lawsuit and includes a formal statement from the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledging the federal government's role in the protracted dispute.

The amount matches the award granted to the state in 2025 by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, centered on demonstrations against the construction of the crude oil pipeline in rural south-central North Dakota in 2016 and 2017. North Dakota alleged the federal government allowed the protests to grow by unlawfully permitting demonstrators to camp on federal land managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the settlement prevents both parties from spending more public money on litigation. The state's legal fees, totaling nearly $7.5 million, are covered by the settlement, according to Wrigley's office. "An important chapter in our state’s history has been rendered indisputable and closed," Wrigley said at a Thursday press conference at the Capitol.

As part of the agreement, the DOJ issued a statement holding President Barack Obama’s administration responsible for harms North Dakota incurred. The agency said that while it still disagrees with Traynor’s legal findings, it “acknowledges in hindsight that, under the Obama Administration, the federal government could have done more to reduce the impacts to the people of North Dakota from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.” The statement also notes that some protesters engaged in unlawful and violent behavior.

The DOJ maintained that the federal government chose not to forcibly remove protesters from federal property "to avoid further escalation of unlawful behaviors," recognizing that "this difficult choice had painful consequences for North Dakota and many of its residents." Wrigley said North Dakota requested the statement to secure a formal, public acknowledgement of wrongdoing.

As a condition of the settlement, the parties asked Judge Traynor to void his 2025 judgment and three other orders ruling against the United States. The United States had initially appealed the judgment to the 8th Circuit but agreed to dismiss that appeal as part of the settlement.

The resolution of this case removes a long-standing legal overhang related to the pipeline, which is a critical conduit for Bakken crude oil to reach markets. In a separate but related industry context, a Rigzone report published Friday notes a global policy shift, stating that "the increased focus on energy security and energy affordability has shifted the energy policy landscape across the globe." For Bakken operators and the state's economy, the DAPL settlement underscores the high stakes of energy infrastructure security and the financial and legal repercussions of disruptions.