![]() He declined a request for comment through an attorney. Thousands were estimated to be living in the camps at the protest’s peak.Įarly on in the demonstrations, former Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault sought a special use permit from the Corps so protesters could demonstrate on Corps property legally, according to witness testimony.Īrchambault is not expected to appear as a witness in the trial. The largest protest camp was located on Army Corps of Engineers land in Morton County. “The failure to require a permit is unreasonable under the circumstances,” Traynor said. Traynor denied the motion, arguing that the Corps should have never allowed protesters to remain on its land without a permit - not only because its own regulations appear to require it, but also because Corps officials knew the demonstrations posed a significant risk.Ī permit would have given the Corps an opportunity to secure compensation for any damage by protesters, as well as leverage to require demonstrators to comply with safety and sanitation regulations, he said. North Dakota never asked the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the protesters because the state “knew it was a request they couldn’t fulfill,” he said.Ģ00,000 comments submitted on Dakota Access Pipeline environmental review Jafek also claimed that during the protests, Corps officials and North Dakota law enforcement both favored allowing campers to remain on Corps land rather than trying to evict them. Timothy Jafek, special attorney to the United States, argued Friday that North Dakota has not demonstrated that the Corps was at fault for most of the damages caused by protesters. Immediately after North Dakota rested its case, attorneys for the United States made a motion for a directed judgment - a request for a ruling in favor of the defense on the grounds that the evidence presented by the state is insufficient to continue the trial. The state says the federal government not only withheld necessary assistance from North Dakota during the protests, but also acted in ways that encouraged protesters. ![]() The state of North Dakota seeks to recoup $38 million from the United States for costs it claims resulted from the demonstrations. The protests were organized in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which opposed the project over concerns it intruded on tribal land and threatened its water supply. ![]() The comments came as North Dakota concluded three weeks of witness testimony in a bench trial examining the United States’ actions during the 20 protests against the pipeline, commonly referred to as DAPL.ĭakota Access Pipeline protest costs debated during federal trial District Court Judge Dan Traynor said in a Friday hearing in Bismarck. “Permits are required for a reason,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials for allowing Dakota Access Pipeline protesters to camp on Corps land without a permit, arguing that the agency could have prevented significant costs to North Dakota had it followed its own regulations properly. ![]()
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