"In the latest legal showdown over the Dakota Access pipeline, federal judges seemed skeptical today of American Indian tribes' arguments for extending a work freeze on a contentious stretch of land in North Dakota.

A panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments over an emergency request from the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to pause construction within 20 miles of Lake Oahe, a culturally significant stretch of the Missouri River.

According to the Sioux, cultural artifacts and burial grounds along the pipeline's path are now at risk because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to adequately consult with tribes or consider the indirect effects of its approval of water crossings by the 1,178-mile oil pipeline."

Ellen M. Gilmer reports for Greenwire October 5, 2016. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments Over Dakota Access Pipeline" (Reuters) [3]