Judge to rule on tribe's oil pipeline request by Sept. 9

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A ruling in the request by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to stop a four-state oil pipeline under construction near their reservation will come by Sept. 9, a federal judge said Wednesday.

The tribe is challenging the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners' $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, which crosses through four states, including near the reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border.

The tribe's lawsuit, filed last month on behalf of the tribe by environmental group Earthjustice, said the project violates several federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act.

Earlier Wednesday, the Iowa board told Dakota Access that it must to provide detailed information about the construction progress in the state, as well as more information about costs the company will incur if it's required to work around the landowner's parcels.

The Iowa Utilities Board will hear arguments Thursday on the landowners' motion to halt construction on their properties until a court can rule on their lawsuit, which challenges the board's authority to allow forced condemnation of farmland for a privately owned pipeline project under eminent domain laws.