Protest camp at Dakota Access Pipeline site closed by authorities

Authorities arrested remaining occupants of the protest camp located near Cannonball, North Dakota, at a portion of the construction site for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline is nearly complete outside of a 1.25 mile stretch of pipeline near tribal land at Lake Oahe in North Dakota.

As one of his last moves in office, on December 4th, former President Obama halted completion of the pipeline by revoking permission for Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline owner, to use Federal land there pending an Army Corps of Engineers assessment.

Upon assuming office, President Trump almost immediately reversed this and allowed construction of the $3.8 billion pipeline to continue. Oil is expected to flow through the pipeline by April.

This development is a huge boon to oil and gas producers in North Dakota and will greatly reduce the cost of bringing their oil to market, as shipping crude through pipelines is both safer and cheaper than by rail.

In-depth discussion on the pipeline is found here.