North Dakota wins $28M court case against federal government over pipeline protests

FARGO — The state of North Dakota has won its case against the federal government.

A federal judge has ruled in favor of North Dakota, according to a court ruling released on Wednesday, April 23, and ordered the United States to pay nearly $28 million in damages stemming from law enforcement actions during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016 and 2017.

From 2016 to 2017, thousands of people gathered along the Missouri River in Morton County, N.D., close to where the pipeline crosses under the river just north of the Stranding Rock Reservation.

The protests were started by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in response to pollution threats to the tribe’s water supply, the imposition onto Indigenous land and the disruption to cultural sites.

This marks the “first time in history” that a court has ruled in favor of a state against the federal government in trial, according to a release from U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.

“This ruling is a colossal win for the North Dakota taxpayers who were forced to bear the cost of our federal government’s abdication of its duties during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests,” Cramer said. “Even before neglecting their responsibilities, our government literally facilitated the violence. This $27.8 million judgment is a win for the rule of law, for sure, and it’s a win for the Constitution of the United States. It’s the result of nearly a decade of hard work from North Dakota’s Attorney General’s office and I really thank them for their efforts!”

The lawsuit came about when the state of North Dakota sought financial recompense from the federal government in the wake of costs incurred by the state during the protests. The trial took place in Bismarck starting in February 2024 and lasted for several weeks. The state of North Dakota said the protests led to $38 million in expenses, according to reporting by the North Dakota Monitor.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor decided in favor of the state, according to the ruling, and specifically noted that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contributed to the costs for the state of North Dakota.

“The Corps’ negligent actions and inactions created a public nuisance in North Dakota, enabling countless instances of civil trespass to occur during the Protests, subjecting the United States (through the Corps and the actions of other agencies) to liability under North Dakota tort law and exacerbating the harms that were visited upon North Dakota,” the ruling states.

This money will go a long way to make “the state of North Dakota whole again,” U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a release.

“The federal government, through its negligence, allowed lawlessness to take hold on Army Corps land, resulting in months of disruption to local residents’ lives, threats to their safety and significant costs to the state,” Hoeven said. “We commend Attorney General Drew Wrigley and his team for securing today’s verdict, which recognizes the harm resulting from the Obama administration’s refusal to enforce the law and police illegal activity during the DAPL protests.”

The move was applauded by North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong and Attorney General Drew Wrigley in a press release on Wednesday.

“This is a major win for North Dakota taxpayers and the rule of law,” Armstrong and Wrigley said in the joint statement. “As outlined in trial testimony and Judge Traynor’s ruling, decisions made by the Obama administration emboldened protesters and ultimately caused millions of dollars in damage to North Dakota, while endangering the health and safety of North Dakota communities, families and law enforcement officers who responded to the protests.”

In March, a Morton County jury ordered Greenpeace to pay $660 million in damages to the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline, finding the environmental group helped incite illegal behavior by anti-pipeline protesters, the North Dakota Monitor reported.

Reporter working the night shift 👻. I cover Fargo city government, Cass County government and underserved populations in the area.