Dakota Access pipeline campsite south of Mandan, N.D. (Feb. 22, 2022)
BISMARCK, N.D. – A federal judge has denied a motion by the U.S. Justice Department, seeking to severely limit North Dakota’s $38 million lawsuit against the U.S. for recovering damages related to Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2017 and 2018.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor said Friday that the Army Corps of Engineers failed to fulfill its legal responsibilities, stating that the Corps’ “failure to follow the permitting procedure opened the gates to North Dakota being damaged by the U.S., its agencies and third parties.”
“The (Corps) created a liability mess,” Traynor said. “It let protestors and other hapless federal agencies exacerbate the damages, and then left North Dakota to clean it up.”
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley, who is continuing the state’s $38 million suit, said he was pleased to see the Court agree with the state, and that “the U.S. can be held responsible for the multi-million-dollar disaster it created or encouraged.”
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