BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier says opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline haven't lost hope that they can block its final stretch of construction.
The Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux had asked a federal judge to temporarily stop pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners from drilling under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota until the tribes' legal claims are resolved.
Those claims include that pipe under the tribes' source of water would desecrate the water they need for religious practices.
Federal Judge James Boasberg on Monday refused to immediately grant the request but said he'll more fully consider the idea at a Feb. 27 hearing.
Frazier says he still has hope that the tribe will prevail.
The $3.8 billion pipeline is to move North Dakota oil to Illinois.