Court orders U.S. to pay North Dakota $28M for DAPL protest costs

A federal judge has ordered the United States to pay North Dakota nearly $28 million for law enforcement and other costs linked to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016 and early 2017, according to an April 23 joint release by Gov. Kelly Armstrong and Attorney General Drew Wrigley.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor ruled that the state proved its claims of negligence, gross negligence, civil trespass and public nuisance. Traynor cited failures by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, stating the agency gave the impression that it had issued a Special Use Permit for protestors when it had not. The ruling noted that protests resulted in harm to the state, including damaged property and extensive cleanup of 10 million pounds of debris.