BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has said he'll rule by Friday on the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's lawsuit that challenges federal permits for the four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline.

The lawsuit alleges that the pipeline, which would be placed less than a mile upstream of the reservation, could impact drinking water for more than 8,000 tribal members and millions who rely on it downstream.

There also have been skirmishes between protesters and private security guards on private land, where the tribe says construction has disturbed ancient sacred sites.

Some things to know about the pipeline and the tribe's ongoing protest:

WHAT IS THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE?

Owned by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile project would carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets.

WHAT IS THE LAWSUIT TARGETING?

The tribe sued federal regulators for approving the oil pipeline, challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings. Filed on behalf of the tribe by environmental group Earthjustice, the suit says the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, and will disturb sacred sites outside of the 2.3-million acre reservation.

ETP says the pipeline includes safeguards such as leak detection equipment, and workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close block valves on it within three minutes if a breach is detected.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE PROTEST?

Since April, a nonviolent tribal protest by mostly members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been set up at a "spirit camp" at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers in the path of the pipeline.

It's grown considerably, as they've been joined by other American Indians and non-Native Americans from across the country, including "Divergent" actress Shailene Woodley.

But the protest has become heated, with nearly 40 arrested, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II. None of the arrests stemmed from Saturday's confrontation between protesters and construction workers.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka camped with protesters Monday, and her campaign spokeswoman said Stein spray-painted construction equipment Tuesday. Stein and Baraka have been charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief.

North Dakota authorities are recruiting law enforcement officers from across the state to guard the site of the protest in anticipation of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's impending federal ruling.

Last weekend, tribal officials said crews bulldozed several sites of "significant cultural and historic value" on private land, which Energy Transfer Partners denies.

It led to Saturday's clash between protesters and private security guards hired by the pipeline company. Law enforcement officials said four security guards and two guard dogs received medical treatment, while a tribal spokesman countered that six people were bitten by guard dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed.

On Tuesday, Boasberg partially granted the tribe's request to temporarily stop work near Lake Oahe to prevent the destruction of more sacred sites, but not on the private land that sparked the protest.

North Dakota chief archaeologist Paul Picha plans to inspect the area, likely next week.

ARE THERE PROTESTS ELSEWHERE?

Yes, but nothing like in North Dakota. Construction equipment at several sites in Iowa was set on fire earlier in August, causing more than $1 million in damage.

WHY IS THE PIPELINE BEING BUILT?

Announced in 2014, supporters said the pipeline would create more markets and reduce truck and oil train traffic — the latter of which has been a growing concern after a spate of fiery derailments of trains carrying North Dakota crude.</s>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has said he will rule by Friday on the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's lawsuit that challenges federal permits for the four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. The lawsuit alleges that the pipeline, which would be placed less than a mile upstream of the tribe's reservation, could impact drinking water for more than 8,000 tribal members and millions who rely on it downstream. Protesters and private security guards have skirmished on private land, where the tribe says construction has disturbed ancient sacred sites. Here's a look at the planned pipeline and the tribe's ongoing protest:

Owned by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile project would carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets. Announced in 2014, supporters said the pipeline would create more markets and reduce truck and oil train traffic — the latter of which has been a growing concern after a spate of fiery derailments of trains carrying North Dakota crude.

The Sioux tribe sued federal regulators for approving the oil pipeline, challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings. Filed on behalf of the tribe by environmental group Earthjustice, the suit says the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, and will disturb sacred sites outside of the 2.3-million acre reservation. A separate lawsuit filed Thursday by a South Dakota tribe also challenges the decisions to grant the permits. ETP says the pipeline includes safeguards such as leak detection equipment, and workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close block valves on it within three minutes if a breach is detected.

Since April, a nonviolent tribal protest held mostly by members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been set up at a "spirit camp" at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers in the path of the pipeline. It's grown considerably, as they've been joined by other American Indians and non-Native Americans from across the country, including celebrities such as "Divergent" actress Shailene Woodley. The protest has become heated, with nearly 40 arrested, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II. None of the arrests stemmed from Saturday's confrontation between protesters and construction workers.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka camped with protesters Monday, and her campaign spokeswoman said Stein spray-painted construction equipment Tuesday. Stein and Baraka have been charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Gov. Jack Dalrymple on Thursday activated the North Dakota National Guard ahead of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's impending federal ruling. A handful of soldiers will help provide security at traffic checkpoints near the protest site, and another 100 Guard members will be on standby if needed to respond to any incidents.

Last weekend, tribal officials said crews bulldozed several sites of "significant cultural and historic value" on private land, which Energy Transfer Partners denies. It led to Saturday's clash between protesters and private security guards hired by the pipeline company. Law enforcement officials said four security guards and two guard dogs received medical treatment, while a tribal spokesman countered that six people were bitten by guard dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed. On Tuesday, Boasberg partially granted the tribe's request to temporarily stop work near Lake Oahe to prevent the destruction of more sacred sites, but not on the private land that sparked the protest. North Dakota chief archaeologist Paul Picha plans to inspect the area, likely next week.

Members of the Ponca, Santee, Winnebago and Omaha Tribes in Nebraska and Iowa along with others participate in a rally on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, in front of the Army Corps of Engineers offices in Omaha, Neb., to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in the Dakotas and Iowa. A judge is expected to rule Friday on whether to block construction of the pipeline that is supposed to pass close to the tribal reservation near the North Dakota-South Dakota border. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)</s>By James MacPherson, The Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. — The Standing Rock Sioux’s effort to block a four-state oil pipeline got a lifeline when the federal government temporarily stopped the project, a move some say likely may forever change the way all energy infrastructure projects are reviewed in the future.

Just minutes after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s attempt to halt the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline that skirts the reservation in southern North Dakota, three federal agencies appealed to the pipeline company to “voluntarily pause” work on a segment that tribal officials say holds sacred sites and artifacts.

Tribal officials challenged the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ $3.8 billion pipeline that is intended to carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois.

Friday’s ruling by Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, came amid growing protests over the pipeline, which would cross the Missouri River less than a mile upstream of the reservation.

The statement by the Departments of Justice, Army and Interior said it would “reconsider any of its previous decisions” on land that borders or is under Lake Oahe, one of six reservoirs on the Missouri River and the drinking water source for the tribal members on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

The statement from the federal departments also said the case “highlighted the need for a serious discussion” about nationwide reforms “with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects.”

Troy Eid, a former U.S. attorney in Colorado who now specializes in Indian law, said the action was unprecedented and a “significant setback” for the pipeline’s builders.

“Everywhere in Indian Country, people are talking about this,” said Eid, who spoke by phone Saturday while on horseback during a parade at the Navajo Nation Fair in Window Rock, Arizona.

He said the lack of tribal consultation on the Dakota Access pipeline “is a textbook example of how not to do a project.”

Historically, tribes only have been consulted on energy infrastructure projects, with the federal government making the actual decisions, said Eid, a Republican.

The Obama administration’s action Friday likely changed that, he said.

“Tribes want to be able to influence the outcome in a substantive way,” Eid said.

Industry consultant Brigham McCown, a former acting administrator for the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, said the Obama administration’s involvement has “changed the lay of the land forever” for infrastructure projects.

“This could bog down or delay every single infrastructure project moving forward,” he said. “I don’t think they even realize the can of worms they’ve opened.”

As a regulator during the George W. Bush administration, McCown said he oversaw safety for 1 million daily shipments of hazardous goods throughout the United States by air, rail, sea, land and pipeline.

“We were very apolitical in the decisions we made,” he said. “Things are very different now, whether from the right wing or left wing, politics of all kinds are being injected into this.”

The company plans to have the pipeline completed this year. In court papers, it said stopping the project would cost it $1.4 billion the first year, mostly due to lost revenue in hauling crude.

The federal government’s action in trumping the federal judge’s ruling, however temporary, was a major victory for Native Americans in a “cultural and historical context,” said Monte Mills, an assistant professor and co-director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the University of Montana in Missoula.

“The way Indian Country came together to support Standing Rock has really been powerful,” he said.

“There is no question it will be much more difficult and costly for these projects to move forward in the future,” said Brian Jorde, an Omaha, Nebraska, lawyer who is working with opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline designed to move crude from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

“The reality is (Dakota Access) likely will move forward — not that I believe it should move forward — but all the pieces are in place for it to go forward,” Jorde said. “There is too much money involved and too much influence in Washington to just give up.”</s>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The federal government quickly followed a federal judge's ruling denying the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's request to stop construction of the four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline by stopping work on one section and asking the pipeline company to do the same on a larger 40-mile swath.



Here's a look at the planned pipeline and the tribe's ongoing protest:



___



AFTER FIERY TRAIN DERAILMENTS, A MASSIVE PIPELINE PLANNED



Owned by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile project would carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets. Announced in 2014, supporters said the pipeline would create more markets and reduce truck and oil train traffic — the latter of which has been a growing concern after a spate of fiery derailments of trains carrying North Dakota crude.



___



TRIBES SUE OVER WATER, SACRED SITES



The Standing Rock Sioux's lawsuit challenged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings. Filed on behalf of the tribe by environmental group Earthjustice, the suit says the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, and will disturb sacred sites outside of the 2.3-million acre reservation.



The lawsuit alleged that the pipeline, which would be placed less than a mile upstream of the reservation, could impact drinking water for more than 8,000 tribal members and millions who rely on it downstream.



A separate lawsuit filed Thursday by the Yankton Sioux tribe in South Dakota challenges the same thing.



ETP says the pipeline includes safeguards such as leak detection equipment, and workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close block valves on it within three minutes if a breach is detected.



___



PROTESTERS SET UP CAMP, A MOVEMENT GROWS



Since April, there's been a tribal protest — held mostly by members of the Standing Rock Sioux —at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers. It's grown considerably, as they've been joined by other American Indians and other, non-Native Americans from across the country, including celebrities such as "Divergent" actress Shailene Woodley.



Nearly 40 have been arrested as the protest has grown size, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II. None of the arrests stemmed from Saturday's confrontation between protesters and construction workers.



___



POLITICIANS ENTER THE FRAY, OFFICIALS PREPARE



Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka have been charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief stemming from their time at the protest. Stein's campaign spokeswoman acknowledged Stein spray-painted construction equipment Tuesday.



Gov. Jack Dalrymple has activated the North Dakota National Guard, with a handful of soldiers providing security at traffic checkpoints, and another 100 on standby to respond to any incidents. Meanwhile, the Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association has asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to send federal monitors to the protest, alleging racial profiling.



___



CULTURE CLASH



Last weekend, tribal officials said crews bulldozed several sites of "significant cultural and historic value" on private land, which Energy Transfer Partners denies. It led to Saturday's clash between protesters and private security guards; law enforcement officials said four security guards and two guard dogs were injured, while a tribal spokesman said six people were bitten by the dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed.



Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg partially granted the tribe's request to temporarily stop work near Lake Oahe to prevent the destruction of more sacred sites, but not on the private land that sparked the protest.



___



This story has been corrected for style to make "pipeline" lowercase in all instances.</s>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — After months of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux and other Native Americans, a federal judge denied the tribe's request to stop construction of the four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. But the federal government quickly stepped in Friday by stopping work on one section and asking the pipeline company to do the same on a larger 40-mile swath. Here's a look at the planned pipeline and the ongoing protests:



___



AFTER FIERY TRAIN DERAILMENTS, A MASSIVE PIPELINE PLANNED



Owned by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile project would carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets. Announced in 2014, supporters said the pipeline would create more markets and reduce truck and oil train traffic — the latter of which has been a growing concern after a spate of fiery derailments of trains carrying North Dakota crude.



___



TRIBES SUE OVER WATER, SACRED SITES



The Standing Rock Sioux's lawsuit challenged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings. Filed on behalf of the tribe by environmental group Earthjustice, the suit says the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, and will disturb sacred sites outside of the 2.3-million acre reservation.



The lawsuit alleged that the pipeline, which would be placed less than a mile upstream of the reservation, could impact drinking water for more than 8,000 tribal members and millions who rely on it downstream. A separate lawsuit filed Thursday by the Yankton Sioux tribe in South Dakota challenges the same thing. ETP says the pipeline includes safeguards such as leak detection equipment, and workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close block valves on it within three minutes if a breach is detected.



___



PROTESTERS SET UP CAMP, A MOVEMENT GROWS



Since April, there's been a tribal protest — held mostly by members of the Standing Rock Sioux —at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers. It's grown considerably, as they've been joined by other American Indians and other, non-Native Americans from across the country, including celebrities such as "Divergent" actress Shailene Woodley. Nearly 40 have been arrested as the protest has grown size, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II. None of the arrests stemmed from Saturday's confrontation between protesters and construction workers.



___



POLITICIANS ENTER THE FRAY, OFFICIALS PREPARE



Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka have been charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief stemming from their time at the protest. Stein's campaign spokeswoman acknowledged Stein spray-painted construction equipment Tuesday. Gov. Jack Dalrymple has activated the North Dakota National Guard, with a handful of soldiers providing security at traffic checkpoints, and another 100 on standby to respond to any incidents. Meanwhile, the Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association has asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to send federal monitors to the protest, alleging racial profiling.



___



CULTURE CLASH



Last weekend, tribal officials said crews bulldozed several sites of "significant cultural and historic value" on private land, which Energy Transfer Partners denies. It led to Saturday's clash between protesters and private security guards; law enforcement officials said four security guards and two guard dogs were injured, while a tribal spokesman said six people were bitten by the dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg partially granted the tribe's request to temporarily stop work near Lake Oahe to prevent the destruction of more sacred sites, but not on the private land that sparked the protest.</s>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — After months of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux and other Native Americans, a federal judge denied the tribe’s request to stop construction of the four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. But the federal government quickly stepped in Friday by stopping work on one section and asking the pipeline company to do the same on a larger 40-mile swath. Here’s a look at the planned pipeline and the ongoing protests:

Owned by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile project would carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota’s oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets. Announced in 2014, supporters said the pipeline would create more markets and reduce truck and oil train traffic — the latter of which has been a growing concern after a spate of fiery derailments of trains carrying North Dakota crude.

The Standing Rock Sioux’s lawsuit challenged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings. Filed on behalf of the tribe by environmental group Earthjustice, the suit says the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, and will disturb sacred sites outside of the 2.3-million acre reservation.

The lawsuit alleged that the pipeline, which would be placed less than a mile upstream of the reservation, could impact drinking water for more than 8,000 tribal members and millions who rely on it downstream. A separate lawsuit filed Thursday by the Yankton Sioux tribe in South Dakota challenges the same thing. ETP says the pipeline includes safeguards such as leak detection equipment, and workers monitoring the pipeline remotely in Texas could close block valves on it within three minutes if a breach is detected.

Since April, there’s been a tribal protest — held mostly by members of the Standing Rock Sioux —at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers. It’s grown considerably, as they’ve been joined by other American Indians and other, non-Native Americans from across the country, including celebrities such as “Divergent” actress Shailene Woodley. Nearly 40 have been arrested as the protest has grown size, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II. None of the arrests stemmed from Saturday’s confrontation between protesters and construction workers.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka have been charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and criminal mischief stemming from their time at the protest. Stein’s campaign spokeswoman acknowledged Stein spray-painted construction equipment Tuesday. Gov. Jack Dalrymple has activated the North Dakota National Guard, with a handful of soldiers providing security at traffic checkpoints, and another 100 on standby to respond to any incidents. Meanwhile, the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association has asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to send federal monitors to the protest, alleging racial profiling.

Last weekend, tribal officials said crews bulldozed several sites of “significant cultural and historic value” on private land, which Energy Transfer Partners denies. It led to Saturday’s clash between protesters and private security guards; law enforcement officials said four security guards and two guard dogs were injured, while a tribal spokesman said six people were bitten by the dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg partially granted the tribe’s request to temporarily stop work near Lake Oahe to prevent the destruction of more sacred sites, but not on the private land that sparked the protest.</s>A federal judge Friday denied a Native American tribe's request for a temporary restraining order to halt construction on the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg wrote in his decision that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe failed to show "it will suffer injury that would be prevented by any injunction the Court could issue."

[Previous story, posted at 10:12 a.m. ET]

A federal judge's decision Friday could fuel heightened tensions in the battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The ruling on a Native American tribe's request for a temporary restraining order on construction comes one day after Gov. Jack Dalrymple activated the state National Guard "in the event they are needed to support law enforcement response efforts," according to a National Guard spokesman.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed an emergency motion Sunday asking the court "to prevent further destruction of the tribe's sacred sites by Dakota Access Pipeline."

Proponents say the project could be an economic boon for the region and potentially change the landscape of the US crude oil supply.

Those seeking to halt construction warn of an environmental disaster that would destroy sacred Native American sites.

The tribe wants to halt further construction on an area two miles west of North Dakota Highway 1806, near Lake Oahe, until the judge's ruling.

The plaintiffs claim the tribe was not properly consulted before the US Army Corps of Engineers approved the pipeline project, which would run from North Dakota to South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

A US district court judge is expected to make a decision by Friday.

The Army Corps of Engineers has declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

On Thursday, a state National Guard statement said the governor had asked it "to support law enforcement and augment public safety efforts, in light of recent activity with the Dakota Access Pipeline protest."

"The Guard members will serve in administrative capacities and assist in providing security at traffic information points," the statement said. "The Guardsmen will not be going to the actual protest site. The governor also placed additional Guardsmen on standby alert in the event they are needed to support law enforcement response efforts."

Thousands of people from more than 200 Native American tribes have supported the Standing Rock Sioux's efforts to protect their lands, waters and sacred sites during construction of the pipeline, according to the tribe.

If completed, the 1,172-mile pipeline would carry 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day from North Dakota to Illinois.

Energy Transfer said the pipeline would bring an estimated $156 million in sales and income taxes to state and local governments. It would also add 8,000 to 12,000 construction jobs, the developer said.

Protesters are also worried that digging the pipeline under the Missouri River could affect the drinking water supply if the pipeline breaks.

Protests turned violent over the weekend, with some demonstrators breaking down a wire fence and trespassing onto a construction area, the Morton County Sheriff's Department said.

"Protesters physically assaulted private security officers hired by Dakota Access Pipeline. The security officers were hit and jabbed with fence posts and flagpoles," the sheriff's department said. "According to several reports from security officers, knives were pulled on them or they witnessed protestors with large knives."

The sheriff's department also said two guard dogs were injured.</s>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The Standing Rock Sioux’s effort to block a four-state oil pipeline got a lifeline when the federal government temporarily stopped the project, a move some say likely may forever change the way all energy infrastructure projects are reviewed in the future.

Just minutes after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s attempt to halt the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline that skirts the reservation in southern North Dakota, three federal agencies appealed to the pipeline company to “voluntarily pause” work on a segment that tribal officials say holds sacred sites and artifacts.

Tribal officials had challenged the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ $3.8 billion pipeline that is intended to carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois.

Friday’s ruling by Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, came amid growing protests over the pipeline, which would cross the Missouri River less than a mile upstream of the reservation.

The statement by the Departments of Justice, Army and Interior said it would “reconsider any of its previous decisions” on land that borders or is under Lake Oahe, one of six reservoirs on the Missouri River and the drinking water source for the tribal members on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

The statement from the federal departments also said the case “highlighted the need for a serious discussion” about nationwide reforms “with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects.”

Troy Eid, a former U.S. attorney in Colorado who now specializes in Indian law, said the action was unprecedented and a “significant setback” for the pipeline’s builders.

“Everywhere in Indian Country, people are talking about this,” said Eid, who spoke by phone Saturday while on horseback during a parade at the Navajo Nation Fair in Window Rock, Arizona.

He said the lack of tribal consultation on the Dakota Access pipeline “is a textbook example of how not to do a project.”

Eid, a Republican, said that historically, tribes only have been consulted on energy infrastructure projects, with the federal government making the actual decisions, but that the Obama administration’s action Friday likely changed that.

“Tribes want to be able to influence the outcome in a substantive way,” Eid said.

Industry consultant Brigham McCown, a former acting administrator for the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, said the Obama administration’s involvement has “changed the lay of the land forever” for infrastructure projects.

“This could bog down or delay every single infrastructure project moving forward,” he said. “I don’t think they even realize the can of worms they’ve opened.”

As a regulator during the George W. Bush administration, McCown said he oversaw safety for a million daily shipments of hazardous goods throughout the United States by air, rail, sea, land and pipeline.

“We were very apolitical in the decisions we made,” he said. “Things are very different now, whether from the right wing or left wing, politics of all kinds are being injected into this.”

The company plans to have the pipeline completed this year. In court papers, it said stopping the project would cost it $1.4 billion the first year, mostly due to lost revenue in hauling crude.

The federal government’s action in trumping the federal judge’s ruling, however temporary, was a major victory for Native Americans in a “cultural and historical context,” said Monte Mills, an assistant professor and co-director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the University of Montana in Missoula.

“The way Indian Country came together to support Standing Rock has really been powerful,” he said.

“There is no question it will be much more difficult and costly for these projects to move forward in the future,” said Brian Jorde, an Omaha, Nebraska, lawyer who is working with opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline designed to move crude from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

“The reality is (Dakota Access) likely will move forward — not that I believe it should move forward — but all the pieces are in place for it to go forward,” Jorde said. “There is too much money involved and too much influence in Washington to just give up.”</s>WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not authorize construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on Corps land even though a federal judge denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s request for an injunction.

The Corps issued a joint statement Friday with the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior that said important issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline remain.

“The Army will not authorize constructing the Dakota Access pipeline on Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe until it can determine whether it will need to reconsider any of its previous decisions regarding the Lake Oahe site under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or other federal laws,” the statement read.

The agency said it will move expeditiously to make the determination and provide a clear and timely resolution. The Corps requested that the pipeline company voluntarily pause all construction within 20 miles east or west of Lake Oahe.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied the tribe’s request for injunction Friday, Sept. 9, in the tribe’s lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Boasberg wrote that after reviewing the extensive record, the corps has likely complied with the National Historic Preservation Act while the tribe has not shown it will suffer injury that would be prevented by any injunction the court could issue. The parties are scheduled to meet for a status conference on Sept. 16.

The statement from the three federal agencies also said the case highlights the need for “a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform” on considering tribes’ views on infrastructure projects.

The agencies said this fall they will invite tribes to formal, government-to-government consultations on what the federal government should do to better ensure meaningful tribal input and whether new legislation should be proposed to Congress.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II is expected to speak from the North Dakota Capitol shortly after 3 p.m. Friday.

Archambault has said the tribe intends to continue looking for legal options to fight the pipeline.

“It’s the beginning of a continuing legal battle,” Archambault said Thursday while speaking to pipeline opponents who are camping north of the reservation.

“We have respected and protected the right of individuals to protest even when protests have disrupted our community,” Morton County Commission Chairman Cody Shulz said in a statement released after the ruling. “It is now clear and obvious the fight needs to be moved from Morton County to a courtroom in Washington, D.C.”

Shulz added that protesters should “respect the rule of law and the right for all citizens to live and travel in peace,” and urged them to shift efforts to judicial or legislative solutions.

The $3.8 billion pipeline will carry 450,000 barrels of crude oil each day from North Dakota to Illinois. The tribe sued the corps over its permit for the Missouri River crossing, arguing the federal agency failed to properly consult the tribe. Tribal leaders say the pipeline will destroy sacred sites and threatens the reservation’s water supply.

The corps argues in court records it “followed a robust tribal consultation process” and said Standing Rock withdrew from a scheduled site visit of the proposed Lake Oahe crossing, a dammed section of the Missouri River.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple activated the North Dakota National Guard Thursday in anticipation of the ruling. About a dozen Guard members are manning a traffic information point on State Highway 1806 to free up law enforcement to have a visible presence near the protest site.

A protest is planned at the North Dakota Capitol from until 6 p.m. Friday.</s>NEAR THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, N.D. (AP) — The Standing Rock Sioux tribe's attempt to halt construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline near its North Dakota reservation failed in federal court Friday, but three federal agencies asked the pipeline company to "voluntarily pause" work on a segment that tribal officials say holds sacred sites and artifacts.

The tribe, whose cause has drawn thousands to join its protest, had challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits at more than 200 water crossings for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners' $3.8 billion pipeline, saying that the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, and will harm water supplies. The tribe also says ancient sacred sites have been disturbed during construction.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington denied the tribe's request for a temporary injunction in a 58-page opinion.

But a joint statement from the Departments of Justice, Army and Interior asked Energy Transfer Partners to "voluntarily pause" work within 20 miles east or west of the lake while it reconsidered "any of its previous decisions" on land that borders or is under Lake Oahe. The statement also said that the case "highlighted the need for a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes' views on these types of infrastructure projects."

Attorney Jan Hasselman with environmental group Earthjustice, who filed the lawsuit in July on behalf of the tribe, said in the days before the ruling that it'll be challenged.

"We will have to pursue our options with an appeal and hope that construction isn't completed while that (appeal) process is going forward," he said. "We will continue to pursue vindication of the tribe's lawful rights even if the pipeline is complete."

Tribal historian LaDonna Brave Bull Allard said after the ruling that it gives her "a great amount of grief. My heart is hurting, but we will continue to stand, and we will look for other legal recourses." She also said the protest will continue.

Energy Transfer Partners officials didn't return The Associated Press' phone calls or emails seeking comment.

Boasberg's ruling said that "this Court does not lightly countenance any depredation of lands that hold significance to the Standing Rock Sioux" and that, given the federal government's history with the tribe, "the Court scrutinizes the permitting process here with particular care. Having done so, the Court must nonetheless conclude that the Tribe has not demonstrated that an injunction is warranted here."

The 1,172-mile project will carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois.

Judith LeBlanc, a member of the Caddo Nation in Oklahoma and director of the New York-based Native Organizers Alliance, said before the decision that she expected the protest, which drew thousands Friday, to remain peaceful.

"There's never been a coming together of tribes like this," she said of Friday's gathering of Native Americans, which she estimated could be the largest in a century. People came from as far as New York and Alaska, some bringing their families and children, and hundreds of tribal flags dotted the camp, along with American flags flown upside-down in protest.

A rally against the Dakota Access pipeline is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the North Dakota Capitol, and many of those gathered at the protest site are expected to make the about 45-mile trek.

State authorities announced this week that law enforcement officers from across the state were being mobilized at the protest site, some National Guard members would work security at traffic checkpoints and another 100 would be on standby. The Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association has asked the federal Justice Department to send monitors to the site because it said racial profiling is occurring.

Nearly 40 people have been arrested since the protest began in April, including tribal chairman Dave Archambault II, though none stemmed from Saturday's confrontation between protesters and construction workers. Tribal officials said workers allegedly bulldozed sites on private land that Hasselman said in court documents was "of great historic and cultural significance." Energy Transfer Partners denied the allegations.

Four private security guards and two guard dogs were injured, officials said, while a tribal spokesman said six people — including a child — were bitten by the dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed. The state's Private Investigation and Security Board received complaints about the use of dogs and will look into whether the private security personnel at the site are properly registered and licensed, board attorney Monte Rogneby said Friday, adding that he would not name the firms.

On Thursday, North Dakota's archaeologist said that piece of private land was not previously surveyed by the state would be surveyed next week and that if artifacts are found, pipeline work still could cease.

The company plans to have the pipeline completed this year. In court papers, ETP said stopping the project would cost it $1.4 billion the first year, mostly due to lost revenue in hauling crude.

"Investor appetite for the project could shift and financing may no longer be available," the company said. "Construction of the entire project would cease and the project itself would be jeopardized."

A status conference in the Standing Rock Sioux's lawsuit is scheduled for Sept. 16.
Following this ruling, and to head off an immediate confrontation, the Obama administration temporarily suspends further construction of the pipeline on U.S. Army Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe, and asks the Dakota Access construction company to voluntarily pause all work within 20 miles of the lake.