Army Corps To Close Dakota Access Pipeline Protest Camps

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Citing concern over flooding from the melting snow in the area, the Army Corps of Engineers has ordered demonstrators to clear the premises by 1 p.m. CT. Wednesday.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

The Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday will shut down the Dakota Access pipeline encampment, an area that was at one point occupied by thousands of protesters who've been trying to block the pipeline’s path through the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota.

The hundreds of demonstrators remaining at the encampment will be made to leave the area by 1 p.m. local time.

An executive evacuation order signed by North Dakota governor Doug Burgum on Feb. 15 said that camp would be closed down due to flooding concerns from melting snow in the area.

Burgum’s order also said that the “accumulated debris, including human waste generated by the populations that have occupied the aforementioned areas of Morton and Sioux Counties pose a significant and increasing environmental threat” to the area.

Activists in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe succeeded in their efforts to oppose the pipeline when, on Dec. 4, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would no longer allow the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe, considered a sacred and crucial water source for the tribe.

But President Donald Trump effectively reversed the decision when he ordered an expedited review of the approvals needed to continue construction on Jan. 30.

On Feb. 7, the Army announced that it would grant an easement for the construction of the pipeline.

Authorities have anticipated that some of the protesters will try to stay beyond the 1 p.m. evacuation deadline, and they've bolstered their presence as a result.

North Dakota National Guard spokesperson Amber Balken told BuzzFeed News that 130 guardsmen remained in active duty at the site. Overall, the state’s national guard has spent more than $8.7 million deploying members to the area since August 10, 2016, according to a memo sent to BuzzFeed News.

In an interview on CNN, Lt. Tom Iverson of the North Dakota State Patrol said that those who choose to remain at the encampment past the deadline would “be subject to arrest and fines.”

Iverson added that state patrol officers would offer wellness checks for the protesters exiting the camp, as well as a ride out of the site and a bus ticket, both free of charge.

“We need to make sure we have adequate resources to not only keep our officers safe but to keep all the onlookers safe, protesters safe, and everybody involved safe. That's what this is about, public safety,” he said.

BuzzFeed News has reached out to the US Army for more information.

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