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Pipeline developer buys ranch near North Dakota protest camp

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The company developing the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline has purchased a North Dakota ranch where a violent protest occurred earlier this month due to what tribal officials said was construction crews destroying burial and cultural sites.

Morton County records show the deal between Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners and David and Brenda Meyer of Flasher was finalized Thursday. Records show the deal included 20 parcels of land on the Cannonball Ranch totaling more than 6,000 acres. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The ranch is near an encampment on federal land where hundreds of people have gathered to join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s protest of the pipeline, which is slated to cross the Missouri River nearby.

Energy Transfer Partners confirmed the purchase Friday but declined to provide further details.