Dakota Access developer gives $15M toward security costs
BISMARCK, N.D. — The builder of the Dakota Access pipeline sent North Dakota $15 million on Thursday to help pay law enforcement bills related to months of sometimes violent protests over the project’s construction.
Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners has wired the money, said Mike Nowatzki, a spokesman for Gov. Doug Burgum. Company investors also contributed, he said.
The $3.8 billion pipeline began moving oil from North Dakota to a distribution point in Illinois in June. The project is still being contested in federal court by American Indian tribes who fear a leak could endanger their water supply, and protests from August to February resulted in a large-scale police response and more than 700 arrests.
The state has arranged for a bank credit line of up to $43 million to cover policing costs, including $5 million just added this week. Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, who heads the North Dakota National Guard, has said costs shouldn’t go past that figure.