Following protests, US halts North Dakota oil pipeline construction

Washington/North Dakota

THE Obama administration stepped into a dispute last Friday over a planned oil pipeline in North Dakota that has angered Native Americans, appealing for calm while blocking construction on federal land and asking the company behind the project to suspend work nearby.

The move came shortly after US District Judge James Boasberg in Washington rejected a request from Native Americans for a court order to block the project. The government's action reflected the success of growing protests over the proposed US$3.7 billion pipeline crossing four states which have sparked a renewal of Native American activism. "This case has highlighted the need for a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes' views on these types of infrastructure projects," the US Departments of Justice, Army and Interior said in a joint statement released minutes after Judge Boasberg's ruling.