The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department finalized a $27.8 million settlement with North Dakota on June 11, ending the state’s long-running lawsuit over public costs tied to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests of 2016 and 2017. The agreement covers law enforcement and other expenses North Dakota says it absorbed during the protests, and it follows years of litigation in which the state pressed the federal government to pay up. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-final-settlement-north-dakota-v-united-states))

In its announcement, DOJ said it disputes the district court’s legal analysis of North Dakota’s claims and the federal government’s defenses under the Federal Tort Claims Act. But the department also said that, in hindsight, under the Obama administration, federal officials could have done more to reduce the impact of the protests on people in North Dakota. DOJ said the settlement is meant to let the parties move forward with some degree of closure. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-final-settlement-north-dakota-v-united-states))

The department’s statement went on to say that some conduct during the height of the protests was unlawful and that the federal government chose not to forcibly remove protesters from an encampment on federal property to avoid further escalation. It also said the United States recognizes that choice had painful consequences for North Dakota and many of its residents. Those lines stop short of a formal admission of legal fault, but they do mark an unusually direct acknowledgment of the costs the state says it carried. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-final-settlement-north-dakota-v-united-states))

North Dakota framed the deal as a win for taxpayers. Gov. Kelly Armstrong said the settlement was long overdue and would help make the state whole, adding that it removes the financial burden from North Dakota taxpayers and places it on the federal government. The governor’s office said the state had previously received $10 million from DOJ for protest-related costs. ([governor.nd.gov](https://www.governor.nd.gov/news/armstrong-statement-nd-receiving-278m-dapl-costs-settlement-federal-government))

The settlement closes a case that grew out of the months-long protest camp at Standing Rock and the broader clash over how federal, state and local authorities handled the unrest. The money is now settled. The legal and political arguments around the protests are not. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-final-settlement-north-dakota-v-united-states))