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Bakken Pipeline Ruling Scheduled

Joyce Russell/IPR
Informational Meeting in Fort Madison for Bakken Crude Oil Pipeline

The Iowa Utilities Board has issued a schedule of deadlines for the controversial Bakken crude oil pipeline which would criss-cross the state from northwest to southeast.   

The schedule indicates the board will rule on the Dakota Access application by December or January.      

Dakota Access is a subsidiary of Texas-based Energy Transfer.The pipeline would transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota.  

The company has taken some heat for what critics call heavy-handed tactics to secure right-of-way.      A  failed effort by state lawmakers would have made it harder for Dakota Access to take land against a landowner’s wishes.    Now  the Utilities Board says the company must complete its filings for eminent domain by August 10th.     

The board will accept comments  on the company’s application for a permit  through July 27th.   A public hearing will be held in late November or early December at a site to be announced, with the board ruling on the application about a month after that.

In  anticipation of a go-ahead from the Utilities Board, three Iowa counties have hired engineers to oversee installation  and a contractor has begun delivering pipe to Jasper county. 

Informational meetings in every affected county drew crowds last year.