The Latest: Tribal leader: Pipeline opponents should go home

The Army has denied a permit for the pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in the area. Archambault says the protest camp’s purpose has been served and there’s no need for people to stay in dangerous winter weather.

Pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners could still prevail in federal court. Some opponents also fear President-elect Donald Trump could reverse the Army’s decision.

But Archambault doesn’t think there will be any developments for months.

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12:40 p.m.

Many Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents who’ve gathered for months in a camp in southern North Dakota are committed to staying despite wintry weather and demands that they leave.

Monday was the government’s deadline for the several hundred people to leave the camp that’s on federal land. But authorities have said they won’t forcibly remove them. Gov. Jack Dalrymple last week also issued a “mandatory evacuation” but said no one would be removed by force.

Another snowstorm was hitting the area Monday, and people in camp were busy shoring up housing and stockpiling firewood. Andy Shute of St. Louis said he’s “staying until it’s over.”

That could be months from now. Robin Pegel, of Mead, Nebraska, said she thinks the weather might force some people from camp over time.

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11 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump isn’t saying what he’ll do about the $3.8 billion, four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline once he takes office in January.

Trump spokesman Jason Miller said Monday that the incoming president supports construction of the pipeline. But he wouldn’t say whether Trump would reverse an Army decision to deny a permit for the pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota.

The segment under Lake Oahe is the only remaining big chunk of construction on the 1,200-mile pipeline to carry North Dakota oil through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux says the project threatens cultural sites and drinking water on its nearby reservation. Texas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners says the Army’s decision was politically motivated.

Miller says the Trump administration will review the situation “and make the appropriate determination.”

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10:40 a.m.

The trade association representing the country’s oil and natural gas industry is urging President-Elect Donald Trump to make approval of the Dakota Access oil pipeline a “top priority” when he takes office next month.

American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard said in a statement late Sunday that the Obama administration “is putting politics over sound public policy.” He says Trump should “stand up for American consumers and American workers.”

The Army on Sunday denied a permit for the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross under the Missouri River in North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The tribe believes the pipeline threatens drinking water and cultural sites. The pipeline would run through the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois.

Texas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners says the Army’s decision was politically motivated.

This item has been corrected to reflect that the institute’s statement was released late Sunday, not Monday.

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9:50 a.m.

The leader of the Standing Rock Sioux says the tribe “will be forever grateful to the Obama administration” for the Army’s decision to refuse to allow the construction of a pipeline under a North Dakota reservoir.

Chairman Dave Archambault says he hopes Dakota Access pipeline developer, Energy Transfer Partners, and the incoming Trump administration will respect that decision.

The Army declined to approve an easement for construction of the section of the pipeline Sunday. Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy said the company must consider alternative routes.

The tribe believes the pipeline threatens drinking water and cultural sites. Archambault says the Army’s decision “took tremendous courage.”

ETP says the decision was politically motivated. The company continues to seek permission for the crossing from a federal judge.

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9:30 a.m.

An industry group supporting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline is hoping President-Elect Donald Trump clears the way for its completion.

The MAIN Coalition is made up of agriculture, business and labour entities that benefit from Midwest infrastructure projects. It says the Army’s decision not to approve a permit for construction under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota is “arrogance that working class Americans soundly rejected on Nov. 8.”

The group says it hopes pipeline supporter Trump will take action once he takes office in January.

The Standing Rock Sioux say the pipeline threatens the tribe’s water supply and cultural sites. The human rights organization Amnesty International praised the Army’s decision, saying “indigenous voices must not be ignored.”

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7:50 a.m.

The president of the National Congress of American Indians says an Army decision to deny a permit for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota is a victory for “all of Indian Country.”

Brian Cladoosby says the denial of an easement for a crossing beneath a Missouri River reservoir shows “respect for tribal sovereignty and a true government-to-government relationship.”

The Standing Rock Sioux and its supporters say the $3.8 billion pipeline threatens the tribe’s water source and cultural sites.

Pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners says the Army’s decision is politically motivated. The segment under the river is the only remaining big chunk of construction on the 1,200-mile pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to a shipping point in Illinois.

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1:19 a.m.

Oil pipeline protesters are pledging to remain camped on federal land in North Dakota, despite a favourable government ruling and an imminent deadline to leave.

Monday’s government-imposed deadline for the protesters to depart the property comes a day after the Army refused to let the company extend the pipeline beneath a Missouri River reservoir.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and its supporters argue that extending the project beneath Lake Oahe would threaten the tribe’s water source and cultural sites. The segment is the last major sticking point for the four-state, $3.8 billion project.

Despite the deadline, authorities say they won’t forcibly remove the protesters.

The company constructing the pipeline, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, released a statement Sunday night slamming the Army’s decision as politically motivated.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the decision not to approve the easement came from the Army instead of the Corps of Engineers

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

The Latest: Tribal leader: Pipeline opponents should go home

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