Propane Crisis Continues on Standing Rock Reservation

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The federal government has released more money for a program that helps low-income people heat their homes, and nearly $1.3 million is earmarked for American Indian tribes in the Dakotas.

But the leader of the Standing Rock Sioux says the additional money might not be enough to deal with a propane crisis on that reservation.

Chairman Dave Archambault II says a tribal program that helps low-income people pay for heat has only $1.5 million this winter, down from $2.5 million last winter because of federal budget cuts. He doesn't immediately know how much the tribe will get from the latest allocation but says it won't be enough to bring the program up to normal funding.

About 5,000 homes on the reservation rely on propane, which is in short supply nationwide.