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No disaster aid for North Dakota for pipeline

State sought federal help with $38M related to protests

By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press
Published: July 13, 2017, 7:52pm

BISMARCK, N.D. — The Trump administration rejected North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s request for a “major disaster declaration” to help cover some of the estimated $38 million cost to police protests of the Dakota Access pipeline, a spokesman for the Republican governor said Thursday.

Burgum publicly announced in April his letter to President Donald Trump seeking the disaster declaration to pave the way federal aid. The governor was notified in May that the request was denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said. The governor’s office didn’t announce the denial until reporters asked about it this week.

The denial was not unexpected because such declarations typically involve natural disasters, and not “civil-unrest-related disasters,” Nowatzki said.

“It wasn’t a surprise to us,” Nowatzki said. “We knew it was a long shot.”

The state had 30 days to appeal but did not, he said.

North Dakota’s costs resulted from about six months of protests against the $3.8 billion pipeline built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners to move North Dakota oil to Illinois.

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