Democrats back attempt to shut down North Dakota pipeline
May 21, 2020
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Three dozen congressional Democrats are backing an attempt by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to shut down an oil pipeline in North Dakota while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts an environmental review.
The group that includes Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren filed a brief in federal court Wednesday. It says allowing the Dakota Access pipeline to operate during the review would give federal agencies “bureaucratic momentum” in the case and violate treaty rights and tribal sovereignty.
The pipeline was the subject of months of protests, sometimes violent, during its construction in late 2016 and early 2017.