BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The Army Corps of Engineers has finished a review of the disputed Dakota Access pipeline and says it wants more study and tribal input before it allows it to cross under the Missouri River in North Dakota.
The corps had given permission to pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners, but in September it said more analysis was warranted in the wake of American Indian concerns.
The Standing Rock Sioux says the $3.8 billion, four-state pipeline threatens its drinking water and cultural sites. ETP disputes that and says it's preparing to bore under the river.
Army Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy says in a letter to company officials and tribal Chairman Dave Archambault that "additional discussion with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and analysis are warranted.''
Darcy says the Army will work with the tribe on a timeline.
A spokesman for a group supporting construction of an oil pipeline through the Midwest says the rule of law must be respected and the project should not retroactively be stopped.
The MAIN Coalition's Craig Stevens says "it's past time for the president to lift the hold on the Dakota Access Pipeline and issue the final, already approved easement.''
Groups opposing the $3.8 billion pipeline plan to hold more than 200 protest actions across the country Tuesday. They seek to draw the attention of President Barack Obama by rallying at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices, federal buildings and offices of banks that have helped finance the project.