Iowa Regulators Approve Bakken Pipeline Permit

Source: Associated Press

Iowa Regulators Approve Bakken Pipeline Permit

By DAVID PITT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DES MOINES, Iowa — Mar 10, 2016, 5:08 PM ET

The last state permit needed for a pipeline that will carry a half-million barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota to Illinois was approved Thursday by Iowa utilities regulators, who also gave the Texas-based company authority to use eminent domain for land that property owners are unwilling to voluntarily provide.

The Iowa Utilities Board voted unanimously to approve a hazardous pipeline permit for the Dakota Access pipeline, called Bakken pipeline because it will stretch 346 miles from Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to Illinois, crossing through 18 Iowa counties and 1,300 parcels of land.

"Together we weighed all the issues presented by the parties and found the issues of safety, economic benefits, environmental factors and landowners' rights to merit the most significant weight in reaching our decision," board member Elizabeth Jacobs said.

The board decided that the pipeline met the requirements of Iowa law requiring it to "promote the public convenience and necessity."

After the vote, about a dozen people in the audience stood one by one and stated, "I am an Iowan and I vote no." Board members quickly left the room. Outside of the building, opponents held a rally.

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