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North Dakota Delegation Urges DOJ and DOD to Assist in DAPL Settlement Case

June 10, 2019

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and U.S. Representative Kelly Armstrong wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr and U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan urging their involvement in achieving an equitable settlement for the state of North Dakota for damages resulting from the United States Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) negligence during the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests.

"Due to the Corps' failure to fulfill its mandatory legal duty to maintain law and order on federal land, the State of North Dakota had to stretch all law enforcement and emergency response agencies possible to protect public safety and maintain law and order," the North Dakota Congressional delegation wrote.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) seeking for the federal government to cover the costs North Dakota incurred during the DAPL protests in July of 2018.

"The Federal Tort Claims Act was designed to provide maximum opportunity for settlement and was amended at the request of the Department of Justice in 1966 in order to do so," the delegation concluded. "That is why we again urge you to enter into constructive conversations with the State of North Dakota so that an equitable settlement can be reached in regards to North Dakota's Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) claim for damages resulting from the DAPL protests."

Click here to read the full letter.

Issues:Energy