The following article written by William Petroski was originally published in the Des Moines Register on January 20th, 2015: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2015/01/20/iowa-pipeline-bakken-energy/22064649/

Bakken pipeline OK requested; setting up Iowa showdown

A Texas-based company has formally asked the Iowa Utilities Board to approve its plans for a crude oil pipeline that would slice diagonally cross 18 Iowa counties, setting up a showdown with farmers, environmental activists and other groups fighting the project.

The application filed Tuesday by Dakota Access, LLC, a unit of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, proposes to transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields to Patoka, Ill. From there, the oil would be distributed elsewhere via railroad tank cars or sent through another pipeline to the Gulf Coast.

Dakota Access wants to construct the underground pipeline across 343 miles of Iowa land, beginning in Lyon County in the state’s northwest corner. The route would pass through Polk County in central Iowa, and leave the state in Lee County in far southeast Iowa.

The state application includes a request for authority to use eminent domain for securing right of way for the proposed pipeline project. It is uncertain at this time whether and to what extent eminent domain will be required, company officials said in their filing.

The company has said the project would have an Iowa economic impact of $1.1 billion during two years of construction, creating enough work to keep 7,600 workers employed for a year.

Rob Hillesland, a Board of Utilities spokesman, said Tuesday the board has yet to establish a timetable for making a decision on the application by Dakota Access, and he noted there isn’t a statutory deadline for the board to make a determination.

The board’s staff will first review the application for any deficiencies or errors, which is not uncommon and is standard procedure for such filings, Hillesland said. Then there will be further staff review and recommendations will be made to the board before an order is issued establishing a process that will include procedural dates and an evidentiary hearing date.

Officials with Dakota Access, LLC., didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Dakota Access conducted informational meetings last month in all 18 counties along the pipeline route, in accordance with Iowa law. Many of the meetings were packed with farmers concerned that an underground pipeline cutting through their fields could have a negative impact on crop yields and interfere with drainage tiles. The company has promised to provide fair market for pipeline easements and to do everything possible to mitigate damage to cropland, as required by state law.

Wallace Taylor of Cedar Rapids, a lawyer for the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the company’s application to state officials leaves many questions unanswered, including more details about economic benefits to Iowa, the impact on sensitive Iowa environmental areas, such as the Big Sioux Wildlife Management Area in Lyon County; and the impact on Iowa roadways.

“We are going to strongly oppose this” application, Taylor said.

Taylor also said the petition says nothing about the negative impact of a crude oil pipeline contributing to the continued use of fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change.

Nathan Malachowski, an organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a political activist group, said his organization is calling upon the Iowa Utilities Board, Gov. Terry Branstad and the Iowa Legislature to reject the pipeline project.

“Our members have heard from people across the state that Iowa must reject this project because it would be an abuse of the powers of eminent domain, threaten our land and water quality, and contribute to the most disastrous impacts of climate change,” Malachowski said.

Branstad to Legislature: Stay off Utilities Board turf

Both Taylor and Malachowski said the Iowa pipeline could result in a disastrous spill similar to one that occurred Saturday near Glendive, Mont., which sent up to 50,400 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River, forcing the governor to declare a state of emergency. The Bridger Pipeline company has shut down the pipeline.

“This is the same type of crude that would be piped through Iowa if the proposed project is built,” said Brenda Brink, a CCI member from Story County. She noted that a 12-inch pipeline was involved in the weekend spill, while the proposed Bakken pipeline would be a much larger 30-inch pipeline, creating the potential for a larger spill.

State Sen. Robert Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said he will oppose the pipeline project. “For every Iowan who is interested in clean energy and for every Iowan who is interested in property rights, this sends us in the wrong direction,” he said.