Dakota Access work is back at full speed

American Indian tribe files last-ditch legal challenge.

CANNON BALL, N.D. — Construction crews have resumed work on the final segment of the Dakota Access pipeline, and the developer of the long-delayed project said Thursday that the full system could be operational within three months.

Meanwhile, in a battle that has drawn attention nationwide, an American Indian tribe filed a last-ditch legal challenge to block the work and prevent what it says is a threat to its water supply.

The Army Corps of Engineers, under orders from President Donald Trump, granted Energy Transfer Partners formal permission Wednesday to lay pipe under a North Dakota reservoir, clearing the way for completion of the 1,200-mile pipeline. Company spokeswoman Vicki Granado confirmed Thursday that construction began “immediately after receiving the easement.”

Workers had already drilled entry and exit holes for the segment, and oil had been put in the pipeline leading up to Lake Oahe in anticipation of finishing the project.

“The estimate is 60 days to complete the drill and another 23 days to fill the line to Patoka,” Granado said, referring to the shipping point in Illinois that is the pipeline’s terminus.

Work was stalled for months due to the opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, who have been joined by thousands of protesters from across the nation. Both tribes argue that the pipeline threatens their water supply and cultural sites.

In a statement, Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier said the water “is our life. It must be protected at all costs.”

The Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota borders the Standing Rock reservation, which straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. The last piece of the pipeline is to pass under the lake on the Missouri River, which marks the eastern border of both reservations.

A separate court battle unfolded between the developer and the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the federal land where the last segment is now being laid. Trump last month instructed the Corps to advance pipeline construction, which had been halted by the Obama administration pending an environmental review.

The Cheyenne River Sioux on Thursday asked a federal judge to stop the work while a lawsuit filed earlier by the tribes proceeds.

Energy Transfer Partners, which maintains the pipeline is safe, did not immediately respond in court to the filing.

JEFF CHIU / ASSOCIATED PRESS Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline protest at the San Francisco Federal Building on Wednesday. The Army gave a green light Wednesday to the final stage of the $3.8 billion project, which could be completed in three months.