North Dakota
Judge orders Greenpeace to pay $345m over Dakota Access pipeline protest
A North Dakota judge has said he will order Greenpeace to pay damages expected to total $345m in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline from nearly a decade ago, a figure the environmental group contends it cannot pay.
In court papers filed Tuesday, Judge James Gion said he would sign an order requiring several Greenpeace entities to pay the judgment to pipeline company Energy Transfer. He set that amount at $345m last year in a decision that reduced a jury’s damages by about half, but his latest filing did not specify a final amount.
The long-awaited order is expected to launch an appeal process in the North Dakota supreme court from both sides.
Last year, a nine-person jury found Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc liable for defamation and other claims brought by Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access.
The jury found Greenpeace USA liable on all counts, including conspiracy, trespass, nuisance and tortious interference. The other two entities were found liable for some of the claims.
The lawsuit stems from the pipeline protests in 2016 and 2017, when thousands of people demonstrated and camped near the project’s Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline as a threat to its water supply.
Damages totaled $666.9m, divided in different amounts among the three Greenpeace organizations before the judge reduced the judgment. Greenpeace USA’s share of that judgment was $404m.
Energy Transfer previously said it intends to appeal the reduced damages, calling the original jury findings and damages “lawful and just”. The Associated Press contacted the company for comment on the judge’s Tuesday action.
In a financial filing made late last year, Greenpeace USA said it does not have the money to pay the $404m ordered by the jury “or to continue normal operations if the judgment is enforced”. The group said it had cash and cash equivalents of $1.4m and total assets of $23m as of 31 December 2024.
Greenpeace declined to comment on the judge’s filing, but Greenpeace USA interim general counsel Marco Simons reiterated that the organization could not afford the judgment.
“As mid-sized nonprofits, it has always been clear that we would not have the ability to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages,” Simons said Wednesday.
Simons added that the case is far from over and expressed optimism about the group’s planned appeal.
“These claims never should have reached a jury, and there are many possible legal grounds for appeal – including a lack of evidence to support key findings and valid concerns about the possibility of ensuring fairness,” Simons said.
Greenpeace has said the lawsuit is meant to use the courts to silence activists and critics and chill first amendment rights. The pipeline company has said the lawsuit is about Greenpeace not following the law, not free speech.
At trial, an attorney for Energy Transfer said Greenpeace orchestrated plans to stop the pipeline’s construction, including organizing protesters, sending blockade supplies and making untrue statements about the project.
Attorneys for the Greenpeace entities said there was no evidence for the oil company’s claims, and that Greenpeace employees had little or no involvement in the protests and the organizations had nothing to do with Energy Transfer’s delays in construction or refinancing.
North Dakota
Armstrong applauds federal funding for upgrading coal infrastructure, including Antelope Valley Station
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong today applauded President Donald Trump’s announcement of his plan to address the nation’s energy emergency with funding under the Defense Production Act, including up to $425 million for the U.S. Department of Energy for 12 projects selected to expand and reinvigorate America’s coal fleet and up to $75 million for a coal export facility.
The funding includes over $27.4 million to help pay for a $70 million proposed project to modernize two coal-fired units at North Dakota’s Antelope Valley Station, operated by Basin Electric Power Cooperative near Beulah in Mercer County. According to the DOE, the upgrades will mitigate unplanned outages, improve efficiency and increase generation capacity. The project is designed to ensure continued affordable and reliable electricity while also supporting local employment at Antelope Valley Station and Freedom Mine, the DOE said.
“North Dakota enjoys the lowest electricity rates in the nation, and investments like this will ensure our fleet of coal plants can produce clean, reliable and affordable power for decades to come,” Armstrong said. “We appreciate the continued support by President Trump and his administration for policies that support U.S. energy dominance and a more stable electric grid to serve our citizens, grow our economy and strengthen our national security. Coal country, and our entire state, will emerge even stronger from this action today.”
Prison Life in North Dakota
Every time we cross the Expressway overpass in Bismarck, you get a quick glimpse into prison life in North Dakota. Occasionally, you will see inmates in the yard doing various forms of outdoor recreation. The barbed wire that surrounds the North Dakota State Penitentiary is a sobering reminder that this is not where any sane person would ever want to spend any part of their life.
I met one of our listeners recently who works at the State Pen in Bismarck, and I got a chance to ask her some questions I’ve always wondered, mostly what life is like behind bars. “Is it like prison life in the movies?” She didn’t have a bright picture to paint, and that’s probably the way it should be, to help steer individuals away from a life of crime.
Oskari-Kauko Värä
I was surprised to find out that at least some of the inmates have tablets and are allowed to go online; their online experience is very controlled. I was also told prisoners are allowed to listen to the radio, something I already knew, as I have received calls from convicts making requests before. You kind of feel the pressure behind those requests, “play it or else”. Ha!
I plan to request a tour in the future using my media credentials and give you more insight into what it’s like behind bars at the North Dakota State Penitentiary.
Marina Nezhinkay
The 20 Worst Prisions in America
Did the North Dakota State Pen make the list? Nope. According to MoneyInc, these are the worst prisons that even the most hardened criminal would want to avoid.
20. Ely State Prison – Ely, Nevada
19. Folson State Prison – Folson, California
18. Penitentiary of New Mexico – Santa Fe, New Mexico
17. William C. Holman Correctional Facility – Atmore, Alabama
16. Sing Sing Correctional Facility – Ossining, New York
15. San Quentin State Prison – San Rafael, California
14. Louisiana State Pen – Angola, Louisiana
13. Rikers Island – New York, New York
12. Reeves County Detention Complex – Pecos, Texas
11. Julia Tutwiler Prison – Wetumpka, Alabama
10. Pelican Bay State Prison – Crescent City, California
9. United States Pen Marrion – Marion, Illinois
8. Idaho Correctional Center – Kuna, Idaho
7. United States Penitentiary Tucson – Tucson, Arizona
6. Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary – Leavenworth, Kansas
5. Orleans Parish Prison – New Orleans, Louisiana
4. Men’s Central Jail & Twin Towers Correctional Facility – Los Angeles, California
3. Tent City Jail – Phoenix, Arizona
2. Allan B. Polungky Unit – Livingtonston, Texas
1. US Penitentiary Administrative Maximum – Florence, Colorado
States with the most born-and-bred residents
Gallery Credit: Stacker
The 15 BEST Small-Town Cafes In North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota voters to decide single-subject requirement for future constitutional amendments on June 9
-
Maine6 minutes agoPilots aboard hydrogen balloon are attempting to cross Atlantic Ocean from Maine
-
Maryland9 minutes agoMaryland troopers attend high school graduation of student whose dad died in line of duty
-
Michigan14 minutes agoMichigan football beats out Alabama, Texas for 4-star DB Blake Jenkins
-
Massachusetts21 minutes agoCheers! Mass. House passes proposal to extend bar hours to 3 a.m. during World Cup, putting bill on fast track. – The Boston Globe
-
Minnesota24 minutes agoThe Scoop – June 4
-
Mississippi29 minutes agoMississippi lawmakers talk school consolidation, closures in state
-
Missouri36 minutes agoArapahoe County Mounted Unit heading to Missouri for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
-
Montana39 minutes agoMontana Republican Party called on to end GOP fighting • Daily Montanan
