U.S. to Pay North Dakota $28 Million to Settle Dakota Access Pipeline Protest Lawsuit

North Dakota will receive approximately $28 million from the federal government to settle a lawsuit over costs incurred during the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests, according to an announcement Thursday.

The settlement amount matches a 2025 judgment by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor. The state's lawsuit, filed in 2019, alleged the federal government under the Obama Administration unlawfully allowed protesters to camp on U.S. Army Corps-managed land in rural south-central North Dakota in 2016 and 2017, causing the demonstrations to grow in size and intensity.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley said at a Thursday press conference at the Capitol that the settlement prevents both parties from spending more public money litigating the nearly seven-year-old case. The state spent nearly $7.5 million in legal fees, which are covered by the settlement, according to Wrigley's office.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement Thursday afternoon acknowledging, in hindsight, that the Obama Administration "could have done more to reduce the impacts to the people of North Dakota from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests." The agency maintained its disagreement with Judge Traynor's legal findings but recognized that the federal government's choice not to forcibly remove protesters from federal property "had painful consequences for North Dakota and many of its residents."

The DOJ statement also notes that some protesters engaged in unlawful behavior, including violent acts. Wrigley said North Dakota requested the statement to secure a formal, public acknowledgement of wrongdoing by the federal government. "An important chapter in our state’s history has been rendered indisputable and closed," he said.

The United States had initially appealed Judge Traynor's 2025 judgment to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals 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 in which he ruled against the United States, including a 120-page ruling from April 2025.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a critical piece of infrastructure for moving crude oil from the Bakken formation to market. The prolonged protests during its construction created significant operational and security challenges for the state and industry. This settlement provides financial closure for North Dakota taxpayers regarding the state's costs during that period.