Federal judge denies Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's challenge to Dakota Access Pipeline construction

Update 3:56 p.m.: After a federal judge denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's request to block a portion of the Dakota Oil Pipeline on Friday, the U.S. government issued a statement saying they are voluntarily stopping construction due to "important issues raised by the [tribe]." The government said it would only authorize construction once it determined "whether it will need to reconsider any of its previous decisions regarding the Lake Oahe site under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or other federal laws." Our original post appears below.

A federal judge denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's plea to halt work on the Dakota Access Pipeline on Friday, The Associated Press reports. The North Dakota-based tribe had attempted to challenge the Army Corps of Engineers' permit to build the pipeline at water crossings, saying it violated federal law and would harm their water supply. The tribe also argued that the construction of the $3.8 billion pipeline, which is more than half complete, violates their sacred grounds. The pipeline is slated to connect North Dakota's oil fields to a pipeline in Illinois. There was no explanation in U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's rejection of the tribe's challenge.

"It's all about environmental justice. It's not only about Standing Rock, this is about a bigger issue that America does not acknowledge its own contracts with Native Americans," a person who lobbies on the behalf of the tribe in Washington, D.C., told NBC News anonymously.

On Sept. 3, pipeline protesters were set upon by private security guards using attack dogs and pepper spray. Nearly 40 people, including the tribal chairman, have been arrested from clashes between protesters and construction workers since April. Many Native American tribes from across the nation have traveled to North Dakota to join the Standing Rock Sioux in their protests.

"We will have to pursue our options with an appeal and hope that construction isn't completed while that [appeal] process is going forward. We will continue to pursue vindication of the tribe's lawful rights even if the pipeline is complete," said Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman, who filed the lawsuit on the behalf of the tribe.