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GOP congressman says Trump could help oil pipeline completion

Dakota Access Pipeline protesters stand in the foreground and in the waist-deep water of the Cantapeta Creek, northeast of the Oceti Sakowin Camp, near Cannon Ball, N.D., Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. Officers in riot gear clashed with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting dozens with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer. (Mike Mccleary / AP)
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota congressman who helped write Donald Trump’s pro-oil energy plan says Trump’s presidency might aid completion of the Dakota Access pipeline, should the dispute over the project linger.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer thinks the matter will be resolved before Trump takes office in January.

If it isn’t, Cramer said Wednesday that Trump has made it clear he wants to rebuild the country’s energy infrastructure.

The Standing Rock Sioux fears the $3.8 billion pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois will harm drinking water and cultural sites. Chairman Dave Archambault is calling on President Barack Obama to stop the project before leaving office.

Energy Transfer Partners says the pipeline is complete except for under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. That was held up as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reviews its permitting.