Standing Rock Sioux sets up camp to protest oil pipeline

CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — The Standing Rock Sioux has set up a camp in North Dakota to protest a planned pipeline to carry crude from the Bakken oil fields to Illinois.

The Bismarck Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1SGbb8S ) the “spirit camp” at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers has been occupied for two weeks.

The tribe opposes the $ 3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline planned by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners because it fears a spill could contaminate its drinking water.

The company maintains the pipeline will be a safe and cost-effective way to transport oil, and will create jobs and boost the economy.

The proposed 1,130-mile pipeline would pass through North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa on its way to Illinois. Regulators in all states have approved the project, though it still needs federal approval.

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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com