Tribe Says It's Being Left Out Of Dakota Access Study

Bismarck (AP)

One of the four American Indian tribes still fighting the Dakota Access oil pipeline in court says it's being left out as federal officials work to comply with a judge's order to determine the pipeline's impact on tribal interests.

Attorney Nicole Ducheneaux says the Army Corps of Engineers "has been almost completely non-responsive" to tribal requests for more information and direct consultation.

She's asking federal Judge James Boasberg to force the Corps "to engage in meaningful consultation" with the tribe.

Boasberg last June ordered the Corps to further study the pipeline's impact on the Dakotas tribes. The Corps says it's had difficulties obtaining needed information from the tribes. But Justice Department attorney Matthew Marinelli says the Corps still expects to finish its work by its earlier estimate of April.