U.S. Settles DAPL Protest Lawsuit, To Pay North Dakota $28M

The federal government will pay North Dakota $28 million to settle a lawsuit over costs incurred during the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests, according to an announcement Thursday. The settlement, which matches a 2025 court award, closes a nearly seven-year legal dispute concerning the 2016-2017 demonstrations in rural south-central North Dakota.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement acknowledging the harms to North Dakota. The agency stated that "under the Obama Administration, the federal government could have done more to reduce the impacts" of the protests, according to a report by the Devils Lake Journal. The statement also noted that some protesters engaged in unlawful and violent behavior, and explained that federal officials chose not to forcibly remove protesters from U.S. Army Corps-managed land to avoid further escalation.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley emphasized the significance of the federal acknowledgment. “An important chapter in our state’s history has been rendered indisputable and closed,” Wrigley said at a Capitol press conference Thursday. The state had sought a formal, public admission of wrongdoing by the federal government. The settlement covers the state's $7.5 million in legal fees and prevents further litigation costs, Wrigley's office reported.

The original lawsuit, filed in 2019, alleged that federal actions allowing protesters to camp on federal land caused the demonstrations to grow in size and intensity. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor ruled in the state's favor in 2025. As a condition of the settlement, the parties have asked Traynor to void his judgment and related orders, including a 120-page ruling from April 2025. The United States had initially appealed the judgment but agreed to dismiss that appeal as part of the settlement.

The resolution of this protracted legal battle provides financial compensation to the state and removes a source of uncertainty for the pipeline's operators. DAPL remains a critical piece of infrastructure for moving crude oil from the Bakken formation to market.

This settlement arrives amid a renewed global focus on energy security. A separate report from Rigzone on June 19 noted that OPEC sees sustained oil demand as policy increasingly prioritizes energy security and affordability worldwide. This shifting landscape underscores the continued strategic importance of stable energy supplies from regions like the Bakken, which relies on pipelines like DAPL for efficient transportation.