AP

North Dakota challenges tribes’ awarding of mineral rights

May 1, 2022, 9:55 PM | Updated: May 2, 2022, 10:12 am

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota is challenging the federal government’s awarding of lucrative mineral rights under a Missouri River reservoir to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, otherwise known as the Three Affiliated Tribes.

The state attorney general’s office said Friday that it filed notice with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that it plans to intervene in the tribes’ lawsuit against the federal government. It said its motion “preserves the state’s position while also allowing discussions to continue with the tribes and the United States to reach an amicable resolution.”

The Interior Department ruled in February that the tribes own the mineral rights, in what has been a long-running dispute. An Obama appointee affirmed the tribes’ ownership of the rights in 2017, but a Trump appointee ruled in the state’s favor in 2020 before the Biden administration scrapped that ruling last year.

At stake is an estimated $100 million in unpaid royalties held in trust and future payments certain to come from oil drilling beneath the river. The federal government dammed the river in the 1950s, flooding more than a tenth of the tribes’ 1,500-square-mile (3,885-square-kilometer) Fort Berthold Reservation and creating the reservoir, Lake Sakakawea.

Tim Purdon, an attorney for the tribes, said Monday that the Interior Department’s ruling didn’t resolve the tribes’ entire lawsuit, including their claim to unpaid royalties.

“The remaining claims are the financial accounting and payment of monies owed to the tribes for drilling under the river,” Purdon said.

The state argues that it assumed ownership of the riverbed when North Dakota became a state in 1889, citing cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that submerged lands were not reserved by the federal government.

The tribes, which reassumed control of the rights last month, point to three previous federal opinions dating back to the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie that they say confirm their ownership of the riverbed.

The tribes’ chairman, Mark Fox, said the state’s challenge was expected and that the tribes will fight it. He has previously condemned the state’s past efforts to intervene and said the tribes’ being granted ownership of the mineral rights corrected “a grave injustice.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

North Dakota challenges tribes’ awarding of mineral rights