Pipeline protester: Removal imminent from company property

CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — Protesters trying to halt construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota believe law enforcement officers could take quick action Wednesday to remove them from private land owned by the pipeline company.

About 200 activists moved onto the site last weekend to fight the nearly 1,200-mile pipeline, which they fear could harm cultural sites and drinking water for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

State Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong declined to comment Wednesday on any planned action to remove the protesters from the private land.

The tribe has five ambulances on standby Wednesday, along with 32 emergency workers — with no one allowed to take time off, tribal health director Margaret Gates said.