Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Environmental News
The Associated Press
Bismarck, N.D.

North Dakota urges court to halt Dakota Access line shutdown

Native Americans sing and drum on the steps of Mpls. City Hall.
Native Americans sing and drum on the steps of Minneapolis City Hall during a protest against the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota on Oct. 28, 2016.
Jackson Forderer for MPR News

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

North Dakota is urging a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline.

North Dakota Solicitor General Matt Sagsveen filed a document Monday supporting operator Energy Transfer’s efforts to keep the oil line open while the Texas-based company appeals.

Sagsveen argued a shutdown will devastate the oil industry and cost North Dakota billions of dollars in tax revenue, hurting programs and residents.

“These definite consequences vastly outweigh the entirely speculative potential harm of a spill or leak while the (study) proceeds,” Sagsveen wrote.

Last week U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the pipeline shut down by Aug. 5 for an additional environmental assessment more than three years after it began pumping oil. Boasberg later rejected a request by Energy Transfer to halt his order to shut down the pipeline during the lengthy environmental review.

Federal officials who approved the pipeline’s permit to cross the Missouri River notified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that they also plan to oppose the judge’s order, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

Boasberg previously ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct an environmental review that is expected to take more than a year. Department of Justice attorneys representing the Corps notified Boasberg on Monday that the government also plans to appeal his orders.

Energy Transfer plans to appeal. In the meantime, the company is asking the appeals court to allow the pipeline to continue operating. Energy Transfer estimates it would take three months to empty the pipeline of oil and complete steps to preserve it for future use.

The line was the subject of months of protests in 2016 and 2017, sometimes violent, during its construction near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. The tribe took legal action against the pipeline even after it began carrying oil from North Dakota across South Dakota and Iowa and to a shipping point in Illinois in June 2017.

The $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile pipeline crosses beneath the Missouri River, just north of the reservation. The tribe draws its water from the river and has concerns about pollution. The company maintains the line is safe.