Bakken pipeline would be bored under Mississippi River

BOONE, Ia. —  The proposed Bakken oil pipeline would be tunneled underneath the Mississippi River while crossing from southeast Iowa's Lee County into Illinois, a senior project engineer told state regulators Tuesday.

Charles Frey, vice president of engineering for Energy Transfer Partners, said a horizontal drilling rig would be used on the project to bore a hole from one bank of the river to the other side on an arch-shaped route.

"There will be an angle of entry and an angle of exit," Frey testified to the Iowa Utilities Board. "There will be multiple passes made, gradually stepping up the size." The pilot hole would be a mere 2 to 4 inches in diameter, while the final hole would accommodate a 30-inch diameter pipeline that would transport 450,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil daily from North Dakota's oil fields, he said.

Frey testified as the Iowa Utilities Board  on Tuesday wrapped up its seventh day of proceedings to consider a state permit for the proposed $3.8 billion Bakken oil pipeline. The project has been proposed by Dakota Access LLC, a unit of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, and Frey said engineers with expertise in river crossings would be used for the Mississippi River segment of the pipeline.

As the state board recessed for a Thanksgiving break until  Monday, Cecil Wright, the board’s assistant general counsel, said the proceedings are going well. It’s important to recognize that the trial-like evidentiary hearing now underway involves more than 80 witnesses and a large number of parties, he said. The pipeline would extend through 18 Iowa counties while transporting oil to a distribution hub at Patoka, Ill.

“This is a long, complex process.  It is just the logistics of getting through all the witnesses,” Wright told The Des Moines Register.

Besides Frey, the testimony Tuesday at the Boone County Fairgrounds Community Building included several consultants who were witnesses for the state Office of Consumer Advocate, which represents consumers and the public interest in cases before the Iowa Utilities Board. Much of the focus was on pipeline construction practices, particularly because 86 percent of the proposed route in Iowa would pass through cropland with another 6 percent through pasture land.

Only 3.4 percent of the Iowa route would cross through what is categorized as developed, open space.

Seasonal crops, such as corn and soybeans, could generally be planted on the pipeline right-of-way, and farm equipment could pass over it. However, buildings couldn’t be constructed over the pipeline route.

Vicki Granado, spokeswoman for Dakota Access, said Tuesday the company wants to clarify its stance about the Iowa Utilities Board’s timetable for making a decision on the pipeline project. The company indicated last week that a delay in the timetable wouldn’t cause a problem because pipeline construction is not scheduled to start until spring, but Dakota Access is now revising that statement.

“We believe the IUB (Iowa Utilities Board) should adhere to the original schedule of rendering a decision by late December or early January to ensure the timely construction of this important energy infrastructure project so we can safely transport domestically produced crude oil to refining markets as quickly as possible,” Granado said. “We will do all that we can to support the IUB in its decision-making process to meet this timeframe.”

But Geri Huser, chairwoman of the Iowa Utilities Board, said Tuesday she doesn’t expect the board to make a decision on the pipeline project until February. That much time will be needed to permit the current proceedings to be completed, for court reporters to finish transcripts, for parties on all sides to file written arguments, and to allow time for the board to adequately review the information, she said.

“We are going to take as long as it takes for us to make sure that we have all of our questions answered before any decisions are made,” Huser said. Iowa law does not set a deadline for a decision to be made, officials said. Similar regulatory approvals are pending in other states.