Updated 3:45pm 2/9/17
A federal judge won’t hear arguments from attorneys until next week on an effort by the Cheyenne River Sioux to block completion of the Dakota Access pipeline.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg says he’ll hear arguments during a Monday status hearing that was already scheduled in the legal battle over the $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois.
Energy Transfer Partners got the needed permission from the Army on Wednesday night to lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota.
Work started immediately on the last chunk of construction.
The Cheyenne River Sioux has asked Boasberg to stop the work while a lawsuit filed earlier by the tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux proceeds.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe also has vowed to fight the construction in court.
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The company building the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline has started construction on the final stretch of the $3.8 billion project.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners began work late Wednesday after getting final permission from the Army to proceed with a crossing of the Missouri River in southern North Dakota.
Company spokeswoman Vicki Granado says work commenced immediately after the company received permission.
One of two American Indian tribes fighting the Dakota Access oil pipeline has filed a legal challenge to try to block its completion.
The Cheyenne River Sioux filed a legal challenge in federal court in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
The work had been stalled for months due to opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux, but President Donald Trump last month instructed the Army Corps of Engineers to advance pipeline construction.
The tribe fears a pipeline leak could contaminate its drinking water. ETP says the pipeline is safe.
Granado says it will take about two months to complete drilling under the lake.
