John Hult

jhult@argusleader.com

Work on the Dakota Access Pipeline is nearly complete in South Dakota.

On Friday, Energy Transfer Partners filed its third quarterly report on the $3.8 billion energy project with the Public Utilities Commission, noting that 100 percent of the pipe is underground in the state – including beneath waterways such as the Big Sioux River.

The Redfield pump station is 85 percent complete, the report said. The company is continuing to work on erosion control and testing.

Progress on the 1,172-mile pipeline has been smoother in South Dakota than the other four states through which it’s being built. Dakota Access had 100 percent of its landowner easements signed by May, with all 272 miles of the South Dakota path covered by May.

Other states have seen more virulent opposition.

Dakota Access gets 100 percent compliance in S.D.

Protests in North Dakota and Iowa have led to federal intervention and widespread media attention. In North Dakota, hundreds of tribal and environment groups threw support behind a protest camp begun by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe this spring.

More than 100 people have been arrested in North Dakota, including actress Shailene Woodley,Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein and journalist Amy Goodman. Charges against Goodman have been dropped.

Standing Rock did not intervene on the South Dakota PUC’s permitting docket for Dakota Access, but several other landowners and tribal representatives did. The commission voted 2-1 to approve the project in December.

Construction and testing progress have continued in South Dakota as national attention has grown, overseen by a third-party compliance monitor who works with landowners and the company and reports disputes to the PUC.

The third-party compliance monitor was added as a condition of the company’s South Dakota permit.

One week ago, the company filed proof of its temporary water use permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which allow Dakota Access to pull water from the Big Sioux River, James River and Snake Creek and other sources to pump water through the lines for testing.

'Divergent' star Shailene Woodley arrested during protest

The PUC required the company to file the quarterly progress reports and water permits as a condition of the project’s construction.

Project backers from the energy industry sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and U.S. Army Secretary Eric Fanning on Thursday, urging each to allow access to federal lands for continued construction. Many protesters have gathered on federal land without a permit, but federal agencies are not evicting them for free speech reasons.

The agencies have scheduled consultations with tribes from six regions of the country for next month.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, meanwhile, voted this week to offer its land for protesters who intend to stay through the winter.

John Hult is the Reader's Watchdog reporter for Argus Leader Media. Contact him with questions and concerns at 605-331-2301, 605-370-8617. You can tweet him @ArgusJHultor find him on Facebook at Facebook.com/ArgusReadersWatchdog