BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Native American tribe leading the fight against the Dakota Access oil pipeline wants a judge to resolve all legal challenges to federal permits issued for the project. The Standing Rock Sioux filed a motion for summary judgment in federal court Friday. The tribe argues the $3.8 billion project needs to be shut down until the government has conducted a thorough ... Read More

City officials would prefer that you don't call it a "debacle," or even a "mistake." They say it's a "transition to a new approach to delivery." Whatever you want to call it, one of the largest contracts ever awarded by the City and County of Denver is being scrapped years ahead of the project's scheduled completion. After months of escalating disputes over cost overruns and delays, Denver ... Read More

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Standing Rock Sioux have requested a hearing on a plan by the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline to double the line's capacity, a move the tribe believes multiplies the risk of an oil spill. Doubling the pipeline's capacity increases the "consequences as well as the likelihood" of an oil spill, Tribal Chairman Mike Faith said in a letter to state regulators. ... Read More

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official says a Montana area emitting toxic vapors is a candidate to become a federal Superfund site. The Billings Gazette reports contaminants from old dry cleaning solvents are evaporating at several spots in an 855-acre (355-hectare) area in Billings. The agency's national priorities list coordinator, Victor Ketellapper, told a ... Read More

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota health officials do not yet know what caused a pair of pipeline spills last week that leaked oilfield wastewater into a tributary of the Missouri River and over some pastureland. State Health Department environmental scientist Bill Suess said cleanup was ongoing Tuesday at the two sites where produced water — a byproduct of oil production that contains ... Read More

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline asked a judge to again block construction of the $8 billion project after President Donald Trump issued it a new permit. Attorneys for environmental groups made the request Wednesday in a lawsuit before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Montana. They say Trump's permit was illegal. The 1,184-mile (1,900-kilometer) pipeline ... Read More

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration says it won't require electric utilities to show they have money to clean up hazardous releases from power plants despite a history of toxic coal ash spills that have contaminated waterways. Environmental Protection Agency officials said Tuesday that modern industry practices and recently enacted regulations are sufficient to shield taxpayers ... Read More

Coming in 2020: An upgraded, enhanced Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Major construction projects at the memorial will begin the week of July 8. Construction will continue through this year and much of 2020; the estimated completion date for all projects is late 2020, according to the National Park Service. The Grand View Terrace, Avenue of Flags, Sculptor's Studio, Information Center, Mount ... Read More