Dakota Access Pipeline: The legal challenges and protests

A federal judge has heard testimony in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's request to temporarily block the construction of a four-state oil pipeline near their reservation, which straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said Wednesday he will make a decision on the issue by Sept. 9.

Here are some things to know about the pipeline and the tribe's ongoing protest:

What is the Dakota Access pipeline?

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access Pipeline is a $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile project that would carry nearly a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/oil-pipeline-north-dakota-subject-to-federal-hearing-1.3734370