CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) -Law enforcement is on heightened alert for protest activity in the area where the developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline is drilling under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota.

Energy Transfer Partners got the needed permission from the Army on Wednesday night to lay pipe under Lake Oahe. Work started right away on the last portion of construction for the $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois.

Opponents have camped in the area for months, often clashing with police. There have been nearly 700 arrests since August.

Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson says there have been no incidents since drilling began, but law officers are ready.

ETP has its own security around the drill area, which isn’t accessible by road from the protest camp.

Jamestown Police Chief Scott Edinger, and Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser say that police officers and deputies will be sent to Morton County to assist the Morton County Sheriff’s Office as needed.

 

Meanwhile…

A federal judge won’t hear arguments from attorneys until next week on an effort by the Cheyenne River Sioux to block completion of the Dakota Access pipeline.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg says he’ll hear arguments during a Monday status hearing that was already scheduled in the legal battle over the $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois.

Energy Transfer Partners got the needed permission from the Army on Wednesday night to lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. Work started immediately on the last chunk of construction.

The Cheyenne River Sioux has asked Boasberg to stop the work while a lawsuit filed earlier by the tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux proceeds.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe also has vowed to fight the construction in court.

Law enforcement is on heightened alert for protest activity in the area where the developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline is drilling under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota.

Energy Transfer Partners got the needed permission from the Army on Wednesday night to lay pipe under Lake Oahe. Work started right away on the last chunk of construction for the $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois.

Opponents have camped in the area for months, often clashing with police. There have been nearly 700 arrests since August.

Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson says there have been no incidents since drilling began, but law officers are ready.

ETP has its own security around the drill area, which isn’t accessible by road from the protest camp.

 

Previously…

CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — The company building the Dakota Access oil pipeline says it plans to immediately resume construction on the long-stalled project.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners on Wednesday got final permission from the Army to lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. The project had been delayed for months before President Donald Trump last month instructed the Army Corps of Engineers to advance work on the pipeline.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has vowed to continue fighting the construction. Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault said in a statement Wednesday that the Standing Rock Sioux are prepared to continue battling the pipeline “in the courts.”

The tribe fears a pipeline leak could contaminate its drinking water. But ETP contends the pipeline is safe.

Opponents of the project held demonstrations Wednesday in several cities, including Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.