Well I ' m a fucking idiot . <| sep |> The cited concern of the protestors is that it might contaminate the water . The odds of it actually doing so are extremely slim and another pipeline already crosses at that location and has run without problems for years now . The company has full legal rights to build the pipeline , it is private land not the natives except for the river , which I believe is technically owned by the state , and was surveyed beforehand for any historical artifacts . The nearby reservation was contacted multiple times by yhe army corps of engineers but did not give any notice of any issues with the pipeline . tldr the pipeline is fully legal and not on Native American territory . <| sep |> All of themThis is you