WTI Crude--
Brent Crude--
Natural Gas--
ND Rig Count--
WTI Crude--
Brent Crude--
Natural Gas--
ND Rig Count--
BAKKEN WIRE
North Dakota Secures Final $27.8M from Feds for DAPL Protest Costs - Bakken Wire
Pipeline & Infrastructure

North Dakota Secures Final $27.8M from Feds for DAPL Protest Costs

A total recovery of nearly $38 million closes the state's long-running reimbursement case tied to the 2016-17 pipeline protests.

Bakken Wire Staff·☀️Morning Wire·

North Dakota has secured a final $27.8 million payment from the federal government, closing a years-long legal effort to recoup costs from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. According to a settlement announced this past week by North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley, the payment brings the state's total recovery to nearly $38 million when combined with a previously secured $10 million.

The settlement reimburses North Dakota for law enforcement, emergency response, and cleanup expenses incurred during the nearly 10-month demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in 2016-17. State officials had argued that North Dakota taxpayers should not bear the financial burden of the protests, which involved responses from 178 agencies over more than 230 days and resulted in 761 arrests.

The protests began on April 1, 2016, when members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and allies established the Sacred Stone Camp near the proposed pipeline route. The movement grew into one of the largest Indigenous-led protests in modern history, with participants arguing the pipeline threatened tribal water supplies and sacred sites. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initially denied a key easement in December 2016, a decision reversed after President Donald Trump took office and directed the Corps to expedite the project. Remaining protest camps were cleared by late February 2017.

In a statement, Attorney General 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 settlement resolves the state's lawsuit against the federal government over the costs.

For Bakken operators and the state's oil industry, the settlement represents the closing of a contentious chapter for a critical piece of infrastructure. The Dakota Access Pipeline, which transports crude oil from the Bakken formation to Illinois, was completed and entered service in 2017 despite the massive opposition. Its operation has provided a major outlet for North Dakota oil, and the financial resolution alleviates a lingering state cost associated with its construction.

The final payment ensures North Dakota recovers costs from a period of unprecedented civil unrest that strained local and state resources. The resolution allows the state to move forward from the fiscal impacts of the protests, which were centered on federal land management decisions related to the pipeline's route.

Source

Bing News

dakota access pipelinedapllaw enforcementsettlementfederal governmentstanding rockinfrastructure

Share this article

PostShareShareEmail

Related Articles

Standing Rock Pipeline Protests Mark 10-Year Anniversary, Recalling 2016 Flashpoint - Bakken Wire
Pipeline & Infrastructure

Standing Rock Pipeline Protests Mark 10-Year Anniversary, Recalling 2016 Flashpoint

The protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) reached a critical flashpoint in early September 2016, an event marking its 10-year anniversary this week, according to a report from the North Dakota Monitor. The $3.7 billion crude oil pipeline project ignited a months-long conflict after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved its route half a mile outside the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The decision framed a national debate pitting American energy infrastructure against tribal sovereignty and environmental concerns. While developers and state officials argued modern steel pipelines were safer for fossil-fuel transit than railroads or trucks, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a growing movement of allies contended the project threatened water sources, sacred sites, and the environment. What began as a smaller protest swelled into a major encampment south of Bismarck, drawing thousands of Indigenous people and activists from around the world. High-profile supporters, including actors Shailene Woodley...

🔆Midday Wire·Sep 6
Pipeline & Infrastructure

Decade Since DAPL Protests Began, Standing Rock Flashpoint Remembered

This week marks ten years since protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) intensified into a major conflict at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. According to a report from the Williston Herald, the world's attention turned to the state in early September 2016 after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved plans for the $3.7 billion crude oil pipeline half a mile outside the reservation. The decision sparked a months-long standoff that pitted American energy development against tribal sovereignty. A grassroots movement of Indigenous protesters and allies from around the world argued the project threatened water supplies, sacred tribal sites, and the environment. Developers and state officials, meanwhile, maintained that modern steel pipelines offered safer fossil-fuel transit than railroads or trucks. Thousands of people, including Native Americans and climate activists, flocked to the plains south of Bismarck. Their numbers grew to the point of threatening to overwhelm...

☀️Morning Wire·Sep 6
Pipeline & Infrastructure

Standing Rock Pipeline Protests Reached Critical Flashpoint 10 Years Ago

The protest movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) reached a major flashpoint in early September 2016, drawing thousands to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and igniting a national debate over energy and tribal rights. According to a report from the North Dakota Monitor via Bing News, the conflict intensified after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved plans for the $3.7 billion crude oil pipeline to run half a mile outside the reservation. The project created a stark confrontation between American energy infrastructure and tribal sovereignty. Pipeline developers and state officials argued that modern steel pipelines offered safer fossil-fuel transit than railroads or trucks. Meanwhile, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, led by then-Chairman Dave Archambault II, and allies contended the pipeline threatened water sources, sacred sites, and the environment. What began as a smaller protest swelled into a major encampment on the plains south of Bismarck. Thousands of Indigenous...

🌅Afternoon Wire·Sep 5