North Dakota law enforcement will begin to block supplies from reaching protesters at a camp near the construction site of an oil pipeline project in an effort to force demonstrators to vacate the area, officials said on Tuesday.
Activists have spent months protesting plans to route the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, saying the project poses a threat to water resources and sacred Native American sites.
Supplies, including food and building materials, will be blocked from entering the main camp following Governor Jack Dalrymple's signing of an "emergency evacuation" order on Monday, Maxine Herr, a spokeswoman from the Morton County Sheriff's Department, said.
The order was effective immediately. As of Tuesday morning, however, no vehicles carrying supplies had been turned back, said Cecily Fong, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.
The building materials intended for the site are a top priority because the camp is not zoned for permanent structures, Fong said. Propane tanks also will be blocked because they have been used in attacks against law enforcement, she said.
A spokeswoman from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 1,172-mile (1,885 km) pipeline project is mostly complete except for a segment that is supposed to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Activists have spent months protesting plans to route the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, saying the project poses a threat to water resources and sacred Native American sites.
Supplies, including food and building materials, will be blocked from entering the main camp following Governor Jack Dalrymple's signing of an "emergency evacuation" order on Monday, Maxine Herr, a spokeswoman from the Morton County Sheriff's Department, said.
The building materials intended for the site are a top priority because the camp is not zoned for permanent structures, Fong said. Propane tanks also will be blocked because they have been used in attacks against law enforcement, she said.
Advertisement
The 1,172-mile (1,885 km) pipeline project is mostly complete except for a segment that is supposed to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
US Woman Killed Boyfriend Thinking He Inherited $30 Million But Cops Say It Was A Scam Viral Video: Cat Saves Dogs Life By Chasing Off Coyotes In US US Woman Accused Of Fatally Poisoning Boyfriend Hours After He Received $30 Million Inheritance Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops CBI Team At Kolkata Hospital For Digital Mapping Of Crime Scene Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah To Be Prosecuted In Land Scam Case Let's Work Unitedly To Confront Pressing Challenges: PM To Global South Rs 700 Crore, 18,000 Women Workers: Foxconn's Tamil Nadu Housing Unit Global South Facing Challenges Of Food, Energy Security: PM Modi Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.