"Judge Refuses Request To Halt Dakota Access Pipeline Work"

"Two Native American tribes requested the temporary injunction last week after Energy Transfer Partners got federal permission to lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota."

"A federal judge on Monday refused to stop construction on the last stretch of the Dakota Access pipeline, which is progressing much faster than expected and could be operational in as little as 30 days.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled after an hourlong hearing that as long as oil isn't flowing through the pipeline, there is no imminent harm to the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux tribes, which are suing to stop the project. But he said he'd consider the arguments more thoroughly at another hearing on Feb. 27.

That gives the tribes hope that they still might prevail, Cheyenne River Chairman Harold Frazier said."

Sam Hananel and Blake Nicholson report for the Associated Press  February 13, 2017.