BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A North Dakota congressman is asking the Trump administration to provide federal protection if or when construction resumes on the Dakota Access pipeline.
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to quickly review and approve construction and easement requests for the $3.8 billion pipeline, a project that has led to major protests. That doesn't immediately clear the way for construction to resume, but it does order the Corps to quickly consider whether to approve the Lake Oahe crossing, a move opposed by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe which gets its drinking water from the lake.
Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer has asked Trump to pay for law enforcement costs at the pipeline protest site near Cannon Ball and provide federal police to protect construction workers.