Marking a nationwide day of action to keep attention on the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline project, hundreds of protesters gathered outside City Hall early Tuesday and marched down Market Street calling on the US Army Corps of Engineers not to endanger water supplies and Native American lands. A small group of protesters last did something similar on Election Day, but their numbers have swelled in the last week. As 73-year-old protester Judy Grether tells the Chronicle, "Trump being elected makes it all the more urgent. It’s scary. He could do in our planet."

Protesters reportedly had a "peaceful sunrise prayer service" outside City Hall, including the burning of sage, before taking to the street with signs that read “Water is life” and “We are here to protect."

As of 9 a.m., some protesters had formed a circle and sat down in the middle of Market Street, disrupting all above-ground Muni lines, per the Examiner.

Also, according to the Examiner, musician Michael Franti took part in the protest and did an impromptu performance.

The controversial pipeline, already under construction and approved by the Army Corps of Engineers in July, is set to pass through dozens of counties, bringing oil from the Bakken oil fields in Northwest North Dakota through South Dakota, Iowa, and into Illinois.

In early November, President Obama said he had instructed the Engineers to examine how they might reroute the pipeline to avoid crossing through sacred Native American lands, which have been one flashpoint in the fight over its construction. The other points of contention have been about the use of eminent domain throughout Iowa with little benefit coming to its citizens, and the obvious fear that pipelines can break and cause massive environmental damage. This one, being built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, is 1,172 miles long and costs $3.7 billion.

The pipeline is set to carry more than 450,000 barrels per day of hydrofracked oil in a 30-inch-diameter pipe which will be buried about four feet underground.

The Sioux tribe of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation has sued the Army Corps of Engineers, and have been engaged in civil disobedience protests at the pipeline construction site near them since this past spring.

As of Sunday, PBS reported that President Obama was "monitoring the situation closely" but was going to "let it play out for several more weeks.”

Today the Washington Times calls this a "punt" by the Obama Administration, saying this could end up falling to Donald Trump to resolve as a result.

Previously: Why Your Facebook Friends Are Checking In At Standing Rock, North Dakota