Feds call for more review of Dakota Access pipeline

Federal authorities deferred a final decision Monday on a controversial section of the Dakota Access pipeline in a statement that highlighted concerns over the 'repeated” dispossession of tribal lands in the nation's past.

The departments of the Army and Interior, in a joint statement, said that while their previous decisions to grant construction were consistent with legal requirements, they wanted to have additional discussions due to concerns about protecting Lake Oahe, a federally owned water source in North Dakota.

The $3.7 billion Dakota Access construction project has drawn steady opposition since last summer from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, along with environmental activists, who assert it could pollute nearby water supplies and destroy sacred historical sites.

Most of the construction of 1,172-mile line, which will stretch from North Dakota - crossing 18 counties in Iowa - to Illinois, is done.

But Energy Transfer Partners of Texas, the major investor in the pipeline, has yet to receive approval for an easement to tunnel under Lake Oahe, which is part of the Missouri River and next to the Standing Rock Sioux Nation.

Demonstrations continued Monday as more than 500 pipeline protesters tried to gain entry to the capitol in Bismarck, N.D. On Monday morning, officials put the building in a 'soft lockdown,” in which all doors were locked and guarded, said Lt. Tom Iverson of the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

Completion of the pipeline was delayed in September so federal authorities could re-examine permits required by the Army Corps of Engineers. In the statement, the Army said its previous decisions 'comported with legal requirements.” But it added that it was 'mindful of the history of the Great Sioux Nation's repeated dispossessions, including those to support water-resources projects.”

It said its additional analysis and discussion with the tribe will include conditions in an easement for the pipeline crossing that might reduce the risk of spills, along with an assessment of how such a spill could affect the tribe.

Officials at Energy Transfer Partners were not immediately available for comment.

The line has been billed as a cost-effective and efficient way to bring North Dakota oil through Illinois en route to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Obama administration has been supportive in the past of the protection of tribal lands. President-elect Donald Trump has voiced support for infrastructure projects, including pipelines, though he has not specifically addressed Dakota Access.

The MAIN Coalition, which represents groups supporting the pipeline, called Monday's action another 'attempt at death by delay,” saying the administration 'has chosen to further fan the flames of protest by more inaction.”

Iverson said a convoy of 140 vehicles entered the capitol grounds in Bismarck. The protesters lacked a permit, required by law for people to assemble inside the capitol.

There were no arrests or physical altercations, and a few hours later the protesters marched toward the federal courthouse, Iverson said. However, the demonstrators broke into smaller groups and attempted to gain entry to the capitol through side entrances.