ST. ANTHONY, N.D. — Construction on the four-state Dakota Access pipeline resumed Tuesday on private land in North Dakota that’s near a camp where thousands of protesters supporting tribal rights have gathered.
In turn, protesters said they’re discussing nonviolent opposition measures, including chaining themselves to equipment. And nine people were arrested Tuesday attempting to shut down pipelines in other states as a show of solidarity with the Dakota Access protesters.
Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners resumed digging trenches and laying pipe, Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Rob Keller said, a move that comes in light of Sunday’s federal appeals court ruling that allowed construction to resume within 20 miles of Lake Oahe. That Missouri River reservoir is the water supply for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation.
“We reiterate our commitment to protect cultural resources, the environment and public safety,” the company said in a statement earlier Tuesday. The $3.8 billion, 1,200-mile pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois is otherwise largely complete.
The work area is a few miles from two protester camps, where scores of people have gathered and say they intend to stay through the winter.