The Jim Bakker Show

New North Dakota governor expects controversial pipeline to be built

man holds American flag at Dakota Access Pipeline protest

By Ernest Scheyder

(Reuters) – North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who took office last month in the height of tensions surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline, said he believed the line would eventually be built and asked opponents to clean their protest camp before spring floodwaters create a potential ecological disaster.

A centrist Republican with no prior political experience, Burgum was elected in a landslide on a platform of streamlining government and improving relations across the state. Burgum built a successful software business before selling it to Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> in 2001.

Burgum told Reuters that approval of the pipeline appeared to be a foregone conclusion once Donald Trump moved into the White House.

“I expect the world’s going to change dramatically on that day relative to finding resolution on this issue,” Burgum said in an interview. “I would expect that (Energy Transfer Partners <ETP.N>) will get its easement and it will go through.”

A coalition of Native American groups, environmentalists, Hollywood stars and veterans of the U.S. armed forces protested the $3.8 billion oil project at a North Dakota camp, which at one point held more than 5,000, though that number has shrunk in size during the winter.

Opponents contend construction would damage sacred lands and any leaks could pollute the water supply of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

Last month, President Barack Obama denied a key permit needed to complete the pipeline, but Trump has said he will review that decision.

Local law enforcement have voiced concerns that any reversal by the federal government could cause the area to swell again with protesters, straining resources.

David Archambault, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, has repeatedly asked protesters to leave the area and let the pipeline fight play out in courts.

Burgum said he agrees with Archambault and asked protesters to help clean up the camp before it threatens the environment itself. More than 300 vehicles, along with dozens of temporary dwellings and other detritus, have been abandoned at the campsite, which sits in a flood plain that is likely to be overrun by spring rain and snowmelt.

State officials are concerned that floodwaters could carry that material away.

“The amount of cleanup that needs to take place is enormous,” Burgum said. “We’ve got a potential ecological disaster if this land floods and all the debris flows downstream into tribal lands.”

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Andrew Hay)

North Dakota governor warns pipeline protesters of possible March flooding

Vehicles and campsites at North Dakota Pipeline Protest

By Timothy Mclaughlin

(Reuters) – North Dakota’s new governor warned on Tuesday that protesters remaining at the construction site of the Dakota Access Pipeline should vacate their main camp before spring because of the risk of flooding.

The site of the $3.8 billion project, which crosses four states, was the scene of demonstrations by Native Americans, environmentalists, military veterans and celebrities who said the North Dakota portion would harm water resources and sacred lands.

In early December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied an easement needed to allow the pipeline to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

The Standing Rock Sioux, whose land is adjacent to the pipeline, asked the thousands of protesters to disperse after the decision. Most did so, but some have remained despite the harsh winter conditions.

“The main protest camp is located directly in the floodplain of the Cannonball-Missouri River confluence. Given the snowfall we’re having this winter and historic data on the Cannonball River, that camp will likely flood in early March,” Governor Doug Burgum said in his State of the State address in Bismarck.

“Anything less than a complete restoration of the area prior to the early March flood will endanger the lives of the protesters and of our first responders,” added Burgum, a Republican who took office last month.

Burgum, who supports completion of the pipeline, reiterated the position of law enforcement officials who have said many of the demonstrators were from outside North Dakota and had undercut genuine concerns over water rights.

“Those original concerns have been hijacked by those with alternative agendas,” he said.

Burgum, a tech industry veteran who was elected in November, pledged to begin meeting with tribal leaders this week. The pipeline, he said, had highlighted the need to address historic injustices against Native Americans.

“The history of American settlement and westward expansion contains many tragic episodes of broken promises, displaced native peoples, and forced assimilation. It is in this context that the Standing Rock situation must be understood.”

Energy Transfer Partners LP, which is building the pipeline, has gone to federal court for a permit to complete the job. It has said the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) pipeline, which is nearly finished, would be a more efficient and safer means to transport oil from the Bakken shale of North Dakota.

(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Only the hardiest remain at Dakota protest camp

A couple of the remaining activists, hold up signs as they grapple with plunging temperatures that make conditions more difficult at the protest camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota,

By Valerie Volcovici

CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) – Two weeks after a victory in their fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, most protesters have cleared out of the main protest camp in North Dakota – but about 1,000 are still there, and plan to remain through the winter.

These folks say they are dug in at the Oceti Sakowin Camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, despite the cold, for a few reasons. Most are Native Americans, and want to support the tribal sovereignty effort forcefully argued by the Standing Rock Sioux, whose land is adjacent to the pipeline being built.

Others say they worry that Energy Transfer Partners LP <ETP.N>, the company building the $3.8 billion project, will resume construction without people on the ground, even though the tribes and the company are currently locked in a court battle.

Future decisions on the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) pipeline are likely to come through discussions with the incoming administration of Donald Trump, or in courtrooms.

“I’ve seen some of my friends leave but I will be here until the end and will stand up to Trump if he decides to approve the permit,” said Victor Herrald, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, who has been at the camp since August.

At one point the camp had about 10,000 people, including about 4,000 veterans who showed up in early December – just before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a key easement needed to allow the Dakota Access Pipeline to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

After the Corps decision, Standing Rock chairman Dave Archambault asked protesters to go home. The camp’s population now runs from 700 to 1,000, depending on the day, and many come from the nearby Standing Rock reservation where they live.

Those left say they are there to “show our strengths,” as Bucky Harjo, 63, of the Paiute tribe, from Reno, Nevada, put it, while the tribe deals with the legal battle.

Logistics are key for those still at the camp, located on federal land. Theron Begay, a Navajo journeyman who is a certified construction worker and heavy machine operator, has been put in charge of winterizing the camp. He is training volunteers to build structures that can withstand sub-zero temperatures and bitter winds, as well as compost toilets.

Some people at the camp have gotten pneumonia, and they and others went to an emergency shelter that was built three miles away to escape the cold.

Because the Oceti Sakowin camp is located on a flood plain, waste from the camp poses risks to the nearby Cannonball River. Tribal leaders have said the camp may need to move if it wants to remain active. Begay said the structures can be “disassembled like a puzzle in two hours” and re-established on drier ground.

North Dakota’s Governor Jack Dalrymple said in a Tuesday statement that he and Archambault recently met to discuss reducing tensions between the tribe and law enforcement. They are discussing reopening the nearby Backwater Bridge on state highway 1806, which has been blockaded since Oct. 27, when activists set vehicles on fire.

Harjo said he will leave “when I see the drill pad removed and DAPL out of here, and when they reopen 1806 and when we are free to go at our own will and not be targeted on the highway.”

NEXT STEPS

Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, and a constant presence in the camp, said the protest is transitioning “to the next level of our campaign” to stop the pipeline.

Some still at the camp worry that if they leave, Energy Transfer Partners will restart construction. ETP asked a federal judge on Dec. 9 to overrule the government’s decision and grant the easement. The judge declined that request; the parties are due back in court in February. The Army Corps is considering alternatives, which could take months.

Trump, who owned ETP stock through at least mid-2016, according to financial disclosure forms, could order the Army Corps to grant the permit. His choice for U.S. Energy Secretary, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, is on ETP’s board. Standing Rock Sioux representatives met with members of Trump’s transition team this week to urge the incoming president to deny the easement.

Protesters who remain at the camp are still receiving donations of money and supplies from people across the United States. On a recent visit to the camp’s emergency shelter it was filled with boxes delivered via Amazon.com.

Goldtooth said tribal leaders are talking about an exit plan for the camp. “We will continue to provide infrastructure support to those who stay here,” he said. “We’ll make sure they’re safe and warm.”

(Reporting By Valerie Volcovici in Cannon Ball, N.D., additional reporting by Andrew Cullen and Ernest Scheyder; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Andrew Hay)

At Dakota pipeline protest, activists gird for fight ahead

By Ernest Scheyder and Terray Sylvester

CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters in North Dakota celebrated the federal government’s ruling against a controversial pipeline but girded for a protracted struggle as President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team said on Monday it supports the project and would review it after he takes office.

Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault said in an interview with Reuters on Monday that he hopes to speak with Trump about the Dakota Access Pipeline.

He said non-Sioux protesters could go home because no action was likely until late January after Trump takes office.

“Nothing will happen this winter,” Archambault said. “The current administration did the right thing and we need to educate the incoming administration and help them understand the right decision was made.”

The company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, said late on Sunday that it had no plans to reroute the line, and expected to complete the project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Sunday it rejected an application for the pipeline to tunnel under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

Native Americans and activists protesting the project have argued that the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) Dakota Access Pipeline would damage sacred lands and could contaminate the tribe’s water source.

Late on Sunday, Energy Transfer Partners said in a joint statement with its partner Sunoco Logistics Partners that it does not intend to reroute the line and called the Obama administration’s decision a “political action.”

Protesters at the Oceti Sakowin camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, were upbeat after the Army Corps of Engineers announcement but expressed trepidation that the celebration would be short-lived.

“This is a temporary celebration. I think this is just a rest,” Charlotte Bad Cob, 30, of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, said on Sunday. “With a new government it could turn and we could be at it again.”

Hundreds of U.S. veterans have joined the protesters. Several veterans at the camp told Reuters they thought Sunday’s decision was a tactic to get protesters to leave. They said they had no plans to leave because they anticipate heated opposition from Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and the incoming administration.

The pipeline is complete except for a 1-mile (1.61 km)segment that was to run under Lake Oahe, which required permission from federal authorities.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it would analyze possible alternate routes, but any other route is likely to cross the Missouri River.

Tom Goldtooth, a member of the Lakota people from Minnesota and co-founder of Indigenous Environmental Network, said he expected Trump to try to reverse the decision.

“I think we’re going to be in this for the long haul. That’s what my fear is,” he said.

The chief executive of ETP, Kelcy Warren, donated to Trump’s campaign, while the president-elect has investments in ETP and Phillips 66, another partner in the project.

As of Trump’s mid-2016 financial disclosure form, his stake in ETP was between $15,000 and $50,000, down from between $500,000 and $1 million in mid-2015. He had between $100,000 and $250,000 in shares of Phillips, according to federal forms.

(Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Alan Crosby)

U.S. veterans to meet with tribe elders in pipeline protest

Trek Kelly of Venice Beach, California, stands with veterans who oppose the Dakota Access oil pipeline on Backwater Bridge near Cannon Ball, North Dakota,

By Ernest Scheyder and Terray Sylvester

CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) – U.S. military veterans will meet with tribal leaders on Saturday as they continue to entrench themselves in a North Dakota camp where thousands of activists are protesting a multibillion-dollar pipeline project near a Native American reservation.

Veterans Stand for Standing Rock members will meet with Standing Rock Sioux elders to determine how the potentially 3,500 veterans arriving over the weekend can aide protesters who have spent months demonstrating against plans to route the Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the tribe’s reservation.

Phyllis Young (C) of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe talks with veterans who oppose the Dakota Access oil pipeline and local law enforcement on Backwater Bridge near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester

The group of veterans are also expected over the weekend to complete building a barracks and mess hall near where they constructed a headquarters at the Oceti Sakowin camp about 5 miles (8 km) north of the small town of Cannon Ball.

The Native Americans and protesters say the $3.8 billion pipeline threatens water resources and sacred sites.

Wesley Clark Jr, a writer whose father is retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, met with law enforcement on Friday to tell them that 3,500 veterans may join the protest and the demonstrations would be carried out peacefully, protest leaders said.

Tribal leaders asked the veterans, who aim to form a wall in front of police to protect the protesters, to avoid confrontation with authorities and not get arrested.

There have been violent confrontations near the route of the pipeline with state and local law enforcement, who used tear gas, rubber bullets and water hoses on the protesters, even in freezing weather.

“I felt it was our duty and very personally more of a call of duty than I ever felt in the service to come and stand in front of the guns and the mace and the water and the threat that they pose to these people,” said Anthony Murtha, 29, a Navy veteran from Detroit, at the Oceti Sakowin camp.

Some 564 people have been arrested, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department said.

The number of protesters in recent weeks has topped 1,000. State officials on Monday ordered them to leave the snowy camp, which is on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land, citing harsh weather, but on Wednesday they said they would not enforce the order.

A man rests on top of a hill inside of the Oceti Sakowin camp as “water protectors” continue to demonstrate against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier spoke by phone on Friday with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, but assistance for law enforcement and a timeline for a resolution to the situation were not offered, the sheriff’s office said.

Lynch said in a statement that the U.S. Department of Justice has been in communication with all sides in an effort to reduce tensions and foster dialogue.

State officials never contemplated forcibly removing protesters, and Dalrymple said his evacuation order stemmed mainly from concerns about dangerously cold conditions as the temperature in Cannon Ball is expected to fall to 4 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius) next week.

The 1,172-mile (1,885-km) pipeline project, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP, is mostly complete, except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

Protesters, who refer to themselves as “water protectors”, have been gearing up for the winter while they await the Army Corps decision on whether to allow Energy Transfer to tunnel under the river. The Army Corps has twice delayed that decision.

(Additional reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago, Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee and David Gaffen in New York; editing by Susan Thomas)

U.S. veterans to form human shield at Dakota pipeline protest

Dakota Access Pipeline protesters are seen at the Oceti Sakowin campground near the town of Cannon Ball, North Dakota in an aerial photo provided by the Morton County Sheriff's Department.

By Terray Sylvester

CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) – More than 2,000 U.S. military veterans plan to form a human shield to protect protesters of a pipeline project near a Native American reservation in North Dakota, organizers said, just ahead of a federal deadline for activists to leave the camp they have been occupying.

It comes as North Dakota law enforcement backed away from a previous plan to cut off supplies to the camp – an idea quickly abandoned after an outcry and with law enforcement’s treatment of Dakota Access Pipeline protesters increasingly under the microscope.

The protesters have spent months rallying against plans to route the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, saying it poses a threat to water resources and sacred Native American sites.

Protesters include various Native American tribes as well as environmentalists and even actors including Shailene Woodley.

State officials issued an order on Monday for activists to vacate the Oceti Sakowin camp, located on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, citing harsh weather conditions.

The state’s latest decision not to stop cars entering the protest site indicated local officials will not actively enforce Monday’s emergency order to evacuate the camp issued by Governor Jack Dalrymple.

Dalrymple warned on Wednesday that it was “probably not feasible” to reroute the pipeline, but said he had requested a meeting with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council to rebuild a relationship.

“We need to begin now to talk about how we are going to return to a peaceful relationship,” he said on a conference call.

The 1,172-mile (1,885 km) pipeline project, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP <ETP.N>, is mostly complete, except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, a contingent of more than 2,000 U.S. military veterans, intends to go to North Dakota by this weekend and form a human wall in front of police, protest organizers said on a Facebook page. Organizers could not immediately be reached for comment.

“I figured this was more important than anything else I could be doing,” Guy Dull Knife, 69, a Vietnam War Army veteran, told Reuters at the main camp.

Dull Knife, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from the Pine Ridge Reservation of South Dakota, said he has been camping at the protest site for months.

Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Rob Keller said in an email his agency was aware of the veterans’ plans, but would not comment further on how law enforcement will deal with demonstrators.

Former U.S. Marine Michael A. Wood Jr is leading the effort along with Wesley Clark Jr, a writer whose father is retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark.

U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii and a major in the Hawaii Army National Guard, has said on Twitter she will join the protesters on Sunday.

The Army Corps, citing safety concerns, has ordered the evacuation of the primary protest camp by Dec. 5, but said it would not forcibly remove people from the land.

Local law enforcement said on Tuesday they planned a blockade of the camp, but local and state officials later retreated, saying they would only check vehicles for certain prohibited supplies like propane, and possibly issue fines.

Dalrymple on Wednesday said state officials never contemplated forcibly removing protesters and there had been no plans to block food or other supplies from the camp. “That would be a huge mistake from a humanitarian standpoint,” he said on the conference call.

He also warned protesters that while emergency responders will try to reach anyone in need, that would be contingent on weather conditions.

Protesters, who refer to themselves as “water protectors,” have been gearing up for the winter while they await the Army Corps decision on whether to allow Energy Transfer Partners to tunnel under the river. That decision has been delayed twice by the Army Corps.

(Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Ben Klayman; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)

North Dakota to block supplies from pipeline protesters’ camp

The Oceti Sakowin camp is seen at sunrise during a protest against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S

(Reuters) – North Dakota law enforcement will begin to block supplies from reaching protesters at a camp near the construction site of an oil pipeline project in an effort to force demonstrators to vacate the area, officials said on Tuesday.

Supplies, including food and building materials, will be blocked from entering the main camp following Governor Jack Dalrymple’s signing of an “emergency evacuation” order on Monday, Maxine Herr, a spokeswoman from the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, said. Activists have spent months protesting plans to route the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, saying the project poses a threat to water resources and sacred Native American sites.

(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Authorities say no plans to forcibly remove North Dakota protesters

People march in Oceti Sakowin camp during a protest against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota,

(Reuters) – U.S. authorities said on Sunday they had no plans to forcibly remove activists protesting plans to run an oil pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota, despite telling them to leave by early December.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the federal land where the main camp protesting the Dakota Access pipeline is located, said last week it would close public access to the area north of the Cannonball River on Dec. 5

On Sunday, the agency said in a statement that it had “no plans for forcible removal” of protesters. The statement said anyone who remained would be considered unauthorized and could be subject to various citations. It also said emergency services might not be adequately provided to the area.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking a peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location,” the statement said. “This will reduce the risk of harm to people in the encampments caused (by) the harsh North Dakota winter conditions.”

Women hold a demonstration on Backwater Bridge during a protest against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S. November 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

A representative for the agency could not be immediately reached on Sunday to provide further clarification on its plans.

Organizers told a news conference on Saturday at the main protest site where about 5,000 people are camped that they had no intention of moving.

There are smaller camps on land not subject to the planned restrictions, including an area south of the Cannonball River where the Corps said it was establishing a free-speech zone.

Demonstrators have protested for months against the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, owned by Energy Transfer Partners LP, saying it poses a threat to water resources and sacred Native American sites.

The companies say the pipeline would carry Bakken shale oil more cheaply and safely from North Dakota to Illinois en route to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.

The 1,172-mile (1,885-km) project is mostly complete except for the segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, less than half a mile (0.8 km) north of Standing Rock.

The Obama administration in September postponed final approval of a permit required to allow tunneling beneath the lake, a move intended to give federal officials more time to consult with tribal leaders. The delay also led to escalating tensions over the project.

Police stand guard during a prayer ceremony on Backwater Bridge during a protest against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S. November 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

Last weekend, police used water hoses in subfreezing weather in an attempt to disperse about 400 activists near the proposed tunnel excavation site.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Cooneyand Peter Cooney)

As Dakota pipeline saga drags on, rancor builds

By Terray Sylvester

CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) – The September decision by the Obama administration to delay final approval for the Dakota Access Pipeline was intended to give federal officials more time to consult with Native American tribes that have faced dispossession from lands for decades.

But the delays have also caused increased consternation among company officials and led to growing violence between law enforcement and protesters, with both sides decrying the actions of the other in recent days.

Energy Transfer Partners LP’s <ETP.N> $3.7 billion Dakota Access project has drawn steady opposition from environmentalists and Native American activists, led by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Their tribal lands are adjacent to the Missouri River, where federal approval is needed to tunnel under a 1-mile (1.6 km) stretch to complete the pipeline.

The activist movement has grown steadily since the tribe established Sacred Stone Camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in April, a temporary site founded as a point of resistance to the pipeline. The movement has remained strong even as temperatures have turned frigid.

The most violent clashes took place over this past weekend. Police used water hoses in below-freezing temperatures to keep about 400 protesters at bay, a move criticized by activist groups, the American Civil Liberties Union and elected officials concerned about freedom of expression and the escalation of violence.

“Almost the entire camp was in shock,” Salim Matt Gras, 64, of Hamilton, Montana, said at the main camp. “They talk about using non-lethal weapons, but when you’re talking about soaking people with freezing water in frigid temperatures, that’s life-threatening.”

Morton County has said violent protesters have overshadowed the peaceful action by other activists. Police said they had recovered improvised weapons from the scene of the protest including slingshots and small propane tanks rigged as explosives.

“We can use whatever force necessary to maintain peace,” said Jason Ziegler, police chief in Mandan, North Dakota, near Cannon Ball, in a statement Monday. He said the use of water is “less than lethal” compared with protesters’ use of slingshots and burning logs.

Both protesters and law enforcement have released statements this week detailing injuries suffered by police and activists, with each side accusing the other of ratcheting up tensions.

Sophia Wilansky, 21, of New York City, was struck on her left arm by a crowd-control grenade fired by police on Monday, according to a statement from Standing Rock’s Medic and Healer Council. A spokeswoman for Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where Wilansky was taken, confirmed she was in serious condition.

North Dakota officials said the explosion that injured the woman was still under investigation, but injuries to her arm were not the result of any tools or weapons used by law enforcement. They cited the recovery of three propane canisters at the site of the explosion.

Standing Rock officials disputed that claim, saying grenade fragments were removed from her arm.

THE BLAME GAME

There is still no official timeline for approval of the project. The pipeline, set to run 1,172 miles (1,885 km) from North Dakota to Illinois, was delayed in September so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could re-examine permits that would allow construction under the river.

On Nov. 14, final approval was delayed again for additional consultation. That set off executives from Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, which asked a U.S. district court to declare the project had the legal right to move forward and needed no further approvals. It said the delays were part of a “sham process.”

While President Barack Obama has said the pipeline could be re-routed, ETP chief executive Kelcy Warren has rejected that possibility, adding he is confident the pipeline will be approved once President-elect Donald Trump, who has been supportive of pipeline projects, takes office in late January.

Two weeks ago, on Election Day, ETP said it was moving equipment to the edge of the Missouri River, and would “commence drilling activities” within two weeks of the move’s completion. That, too, was seen as a provocation by protesters.

The delays have alarmed elected officials in North Dakota. Governor Jack Dalrymple has urged federal officials to resolve the permitting process and asked for additional support from federal law enforcement. A spokesman for the governor also blamed federal officials for allowing protesters to camp without a permit on federal property.

“They’re shirking their responsibility here and I don’t believe that they fully appreciate the seriousness of what we’ve got here,” spokesman Jeff Zent said of the federal government.

John DeCarlo, associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, said the state needs to take a more active stance or the situation could deteriorate.

“They have to stop and realize that this is going to take mediation, not force. There’s no good that could come out of police using force against indigenous peoples and others who are protesting,” said DeCarlo, who is also a former police chief.

Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, has for several months asked activists to refrain from violence. On Monday, he did not denounce their actions entirely, saying he believes law enforcement is trying to escalate violence.

“Any time you’re backed into a corner, you react,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Stephanie Keith in Cannon Ball, Ben Klayman in Detroit, Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Police clash with North Dakota pipeline protesters, arrest one

police surround north dakota pipeline protesters

By Chris Michaud

(Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters opposed to a North Dakota oil pipeline project they say threatens water resources and sacred tribal lands clashed with police who fired tear gas at the scene of a similar confrontation last month, officials said.

An estimated 400 protesters mounted the Backwater Bridge and attempted to force their way past police in what the Morton County Sheriff’s Department described as an “ongoing riot,” the latest in a series of demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

A media statement from the agency said one arrest had been made by 8:30 p.m. local time (0230 GMT Monday), about 2 1/2 hours after the incident began some 45 miles (30 miles) south of Bismark, the North Dakota capital.

The Backwater Bridge has been closed since late October, when activists clashed with police in riot gear and set two trucks on fire, prompting authorities to forcibly shut down a protesters encampment nearby.

The Morton County Sheriff’s Department said officers on the scene of the latest confrontation were “describing protesters’ actions as very aggressive.”

Demonstrators tried to start numerous fires as they attempted to outflank and “attack” law enforcement barricades, the sheriff’s statement said.

Police said they responded by firing volleys of tear gas at protesters in a bid to prevent them from crossing the bridge.

Activists at the scene reported on Twitter that police were also spraying protesters with water in sub-freezing temperatures and firing rubber bullets, injuring some in the crowd.

Police did not confirm the use of rubber bullets or water.

The clashes began after protesters removed a truck that had been on the bridge since Oct. 27, police said. The North Dakota Department of Transportation closed the Backwater Bridge due to damage from that incident.

The $3.7 billion Dakota Access project has been drawing steady opposition from Native American and environmental activists since the summer.

Completion of the pipeline, set to run 1,172 miles (1,185 km) from North Dakota to Illinois, was delayed in September so federal authorities could re-examine permits required by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Plans called for the pipeline to pass under Lake Oahe, a federally owned water source, and to skirt the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation by about half a mile. Most of the construction has otherwise been finished.

The Standing Rock tribe and environmental activists say the project would threaten water supplies and sacred Native American sites and ultimately contribute to climate change.

Supporters of the pipeline, owned by Energy Transfer Partners, said the project offers the fast and most direct route for bringing Bakken shale oil from North Dakota to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries and would be safer than transporting the oil by road or rail.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud in New York; Editing by Steve Gorman and Paul Tait)

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