North Dakota Sues Dakota Access over Farmland Ownership
BC-US--Oil Pipeline-State Lawsuit,1st Ld-Writethru
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's attorney general is suing the developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline over agricultural land the company owns in violation of a state law banning large corporations from owning farmland.
In a separate case, an American Indian activist accused of starting a riot on a portion of the land during protests against the pipeline last year wants to use the state's lawsuit in his defense.
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem on July 3 filed a civil complaint in state district court against Dakota Access, a company formed by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners to build the $3.8 billion pipeline to move North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The pipeline began operating a year ago.
Dakota Access in September 2016 bought about 6,000 acres from a ranch family in an area of southern North Dakota where thousands of pipeline opponents had gathered to protest . North Dakota law prohibits large corporations from owning and operating farms, to protect the state's family farming heritage, but Stenehjem reached a deal with the company under which he agreed not to immediately sue. He deemed the purchase temporarily necessary to provide a safer environment for pipeline workers.
The agreement with the company expired at the end of last year but was extended through June.
The company's "continued ownership of the land constitutes a continuing violation of state law," Stenehjem wrote in his complaint. He asked the court to fine the company $25,000 and order it to sell the land within a year or face more fines.
ETP spokeswoman Lisa Dillinger on Tuesday said the company doesn't comment on legal matters. The company has about three weeks to file a formal response in court.
Meanwhile, American Indian activist Chase Iron Eyes is asking the court to consider the state's lawsuit as he fights charges of trespassing on the land and inciting a riot in February 2017. Nearly 75 people were arrested after erecting teepees on the land, which they believe rightfully belongs to Native Americans under old treaties.
Given that Dakota Access can't legally own the land under state law, the company "had no legal authority whatsoever to direct law enforcement authorities to forcibly remove" Iron Eyes and the others, defense attorney Alexander Reichert said in court documents.
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Related News
Related News
- Kinder Morgan Proposes 290-Mile Gas Pipeline Expansion Spanning Three States
- Enbridge Plans 86-Mile Pipeline Expansion, Bringing 850 Workers to Northern B.C.
- Three Killed, Two Injured in Accident at LNG Construction Site in Texas
- Tallgrass to Build New Permian-to-Rockies Pipeline, Targets 2028 Startup with 2.4 Bcf Capacity
- TC Energy Approves $900 Million Northwoods Pipeline Expansion for U.S. Midwest
- U.S. Pipeline Expansion to Add 99 Bcf/d, Mostly for LNG Export, Report Finds
- Enbridge Adds Turboexpanders at Pipeline Sites to Power Data Centers in Canada, Pennsylvania
- Great Basin Gas Expansion Draws Strong Shipper Demand in Northern Nevada
- Cheniere Seeks FERC Approval to Expand Sabine Pass LNG Facility
- Heath Consultants Exits Locate Business to Expand Methane Leak Detection Portfolio
Comments