U.S. Judge allows North Dakota pipeline construction to proceed

By Reuters

Protesters demonstrate against the Energy Transfer Partners Dakota Access oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in Cannon Ball, North Dakota

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Friday allowed construction to proceed on a crude oil pipeline in North Dakota, denying a request from Native American tribes to enjoin the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw permits for the project.

U.S. Judge James Boasberg ruled that the Corps “likely” complied with federal law in permitting the 1,100 mile (1,770 km), $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline, which would be the first to bring crude oil from the Bakken shale directly to refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast.

(Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Chris Reese)