U.S. Settles DAPL Protest Lawsuit, Pays North Dakota $28 Million

North Dakota will receive roughly $28 million from the federal government to settle a long-running lawsuit over costs from the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests, according to a settlement announced Thursday. The amount matches a 2025 judgment from U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the settlement prevents both parties from spending more public money litigating the nearly seven-year-old lawsuit. The state's nearly $7.5 million in legal fees are covered by the payment, according to his office.

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. The state alleged the federal government caused the protests to grow by unlawfully allowing demonstrators to camp on federal land managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement holding the Obama administration responsible for harms North Dakota incurred. The agency said 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 DOJ maintained its stance that it allowed the encampment for safety reasons to avoid further escalation, but recognized that choice "had painful consequences for North Dakota and many of its residents." The statement also notes that some protesters engaged in unlawful and violent behavior.

Wrigley said North Dakota sought the formal, public acknowledgement of wrongdoing. “An important chapter in our state’s history has been rendered indisputable and closed,” he said at a Thursday press conference.

The United States had initially appealed Judge Traynor's 2025 judgment to the 8th Circuit Court but agreed to dismiss that appeal as part of the settlement. Another condition requires the parties to ask Traynor to void his judgment and three other orders ruling against the federal government, including a 120-page ruling from April 2025.

The resolution brings financial and legal closure to a contentious period that strained state resources during peak pipeline construction. The Dakota Access Pipeline remains a critical artery for transporting Bakken crude to market.