Laborers Union Applauds Federal Court's Dakota Access Ruling
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's congressional delegation and a laborers union are applauding a federal appeals court ruling allowing construction to continue on a small stretch of the four-state Dakota Access pipeline.
The ruling Sunday clears the way for pipeline work to resume within 20 miles of Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The pipeline is otherwise nearly complete.
The Laborers International Union says the ruling affirms that the pipeline is a lawfully permitted project.
Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman tells The Bismarck Tribune that continuing construction would be "a tragedy."
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is still appealing a court ruling that let work on the entire pipeline go forward. And federal agencies have prohibited construction on a section right at Lake Oahe where land is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers.
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