Native tribes to urge judge to block final link in Dakota pipeline
Source: Reuters
Native American tribes seeking a halt to construction of the final link in the Dakota Access Pipeline will argue in federal court on Monday that the project will prevent them from practicing religious ceremonies at a lake they say is surrounded by sacred ground.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week granted a final easement to Energy Transfer Partners LP, the company building the $3.8-billion Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), after President Donald Trump issued an order to advance the pipeline days after he took office in January.
Lawyers for the Cheyenne River Sioux and the Standing Rock Sioux will urge Judge James Boasberg in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. at 2:00 p.m. ET to block construction of the project with a temporary restraining order.
"We are contending that the waters of Lake Oahe are sacred to Cheyenne River and all of its members, and that the very presence of a pipeline, not only construction but possible oil flow through that pipeline, would obstruct the free exercise of our religious practices," Matthew Vogel, a legislative associate for the Cheyenne River Sioux, told reporters in a conference call ahead of the hearing.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-dakota-pipeline-idUSKBN15S22S?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social
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