Courtroom proceedings close in North Dakota’s federal DAPL lawsuit
Steve Hallstrom
Special to The Farmer
The waiting game has begun in the state of North Dakota’s lawsuit against the federal government. The game might be a long one.
Five weeks of courtroom proceedings drew to a close on Friday, March 15. The case, filed under the Federal Tort Claims act, seeks $38 million in damages due to what the state calls “unlawful occupation of Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protestors on federal lands” more than seven years ago.
The state saw an unprecedented level of protest that spanned almost eight months during construction of the legally permitted pipeline, owned by Energy Transfer Partners, in 2016 and 2017. The ensuing occupation about 50 miles south of Bismarck, resulted in a public safety concern that caused state officials and law enforcement to quickly prepare a response they had no playbook for. State lawyers say these events happened because the federal government failed to assist the state with emergency response efforts.
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