Dakota Access Pipeline protest costs headed for court Thursday

(KNOX) –

A bench trial begins Thursday is U.S. District Court in Bismarck to determine if the federal government will pay North Dakota claims for emergency response costs from eight months of Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016 and 2017.

Senator Kevin Cramer’s office says activists illegally occupied federal lands and engaged in unlawful, destructive and violent acts. North Dakota was left without assistance to protect public safety and clean the very land the activists sought to protect.

Cramer says the end result was $38 million in damage to North Dakota.

The federal government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) failure to contain the protests or assist law enforcement resulted in more than $38 million in damages to North Dakota.

By statute, there will be no jury for the bench trial. All decisions of fact and law will be determined by District Judge Daniel Traynor.