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Governor, Army Corps block deadline extension for Dakota pipeline protesters
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/governor-army-corps-block-deadline-extension-for-dakota-pipeline-protesters/Federal officials and North Dakota’s governor on Thursday refused to extend next week’s evacuation deadline for activists living in camps that have been a base for months for demonstrations against the multibillion-dollar Dakota Access oil pipeline.
Opponents of the 1,170-mile (1.882-km) line met with officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, officials representing Republican Governor Doug Burgum and the state Department of Transportation on Thursday morning, asking to be given more time to remove their belongings and waste from the camps.
In a statement on Thursday evening, Burgum and the Army Corps refused to extend next Wednesday’s deadline. Army Corps spokesman Ryan Hignight said contractors working for the agency would enter the camp as soon as they could. “We’re not going to necessarily wait for the 22nd,” Hignight said.
Pipeline opponents say they fear fresh conflicts with law enforcement if Army Crops crews, including waste-removal personnel, are accompanied by police.