Feds, North Dakota to negotiate pipeline policing costs

By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal and state lawyers will meet next week to negotiate a settlement for money that North Dakota claims it spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. North Dakota filed a lawsuit two years ago seeking to recover more than $38 million in damages from the monthslong pipeline protests almost five years ago. The state argues the Corps of Engineers allowed and sometimes encouraged protesters to illegally camp without a federal permit. The Corps has said protesters weren’t evicted due to free speech reasons. The Corps has argued it has “limited authority” to enforce rules on land it manages.