Native American tribes drop challenge against Dakota Access oil pipeline
Native American tribes fighting the Dakota Access oil pipeline in court have dropped an appeal against a federal judge's decision which allowed final construction to proceed.
US district judge James Boasberg had refused to stop completion of the pipeline based on the claims of Sioux tribes that it threatens water they consider sacred.
The Cheyenne River Sioux appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
That court refused an emergency order stopping oil from flowing. The pipeline is now filled with oil and ready to begin commercial operations in two weeks.
With oil already in the line, Cheyenne River attorneys in late April submitted a motion to voluntarily dismiss their claim in the appeals court, and the motion was granted on Monday.
