DAPL Nearly Ready – Legal Fight Rolls On

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Oil has been pumped into a section of the Dakota Access pipeline, but that doesn't put an end to the saga that began nearly a year ago.

Four Sioux tribes in North Dakota and South Dakota have a lawsuit pending in federal court and hope to persuade a judge to shut down the pipeline.

The Cheyenne River tribe has a protest camp operating in southern North Dakota, with about 25 people. Tribal spokesman Remi Bald Eagle says the camp's future depends on the litigation.

A large law enforcement presence in the area is being scaled back, but North Dakota is still trying to recoup more than $38 million in policing costs from the federal government.

There also are hundreds of protest-related cases making their way through the state's court system.