Critics say Bakken pipeline proposal moving too fast

A proposed Bakken crude oil pipeline through Iowa is so contentious that even a state panel’s meeting schedule on the project is generating debate.

The Iowa Utilities Board has issued an order for up to 11 days of hearings to begin Nov. 12 and to continue through Dec. 2 if necessary. The meetings will be held at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Boone, which is the middle point for the portion of the project that would slice diagonally through 18 Iowa counties, said board spokesman Don Tormey. A decision on the pipeline application is expected either by year's end or early January.

Critics of the schedule say more time is needed to evaluate possible environmental damage and to let the 2016 Legislature debate whether a for-profit company should be allowed to condemn private land for the pipeline.

“There hasn’t been a full environmental review of this by any means, and there is clear interest from Iowans on stronger regulations for eminent domain,” says Nathan Malachowski, an organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, which strongly opposes the pipeline project.

Proponents say Iowa construction trades workers are ready to start work and delays are unnecessary. The project was announced in June 2014 and the company filed an application last January seeking approval from Iowa utility regulators.

Eminent domain bill heads to Iowa Senate floor

Dakota Access LLC, which is proposing the $3.78 billion pipeline that would run through four states, is so confident of approval it has already stockpiled pipe along the route, and last month the firm announced it has hired two Wisconsin contractors to help build the pipeline. Vicki Granado, a Dakota Access spokeswoman, said voluntary easement agreements have been signed on more than 68 percent of the tracts of land involved in Iowa and on more than 74 percent of the tracts in all four states on the pipeline route.

The pipeline would extend from the Bakken and Three Forks oil fields in North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution hub in Patoka, Ill. Dakota Access is a unit of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners.

Ed Fallon, a former legislator from Des Moines who led climate change activists on a march across the United States last year, said he worries the pipeline application is being pushed through quickly to help tamp down opposition.

IOWA POLL: Iowans back energy projects but oppose eminent domain

ALL PREVIOUS: Bakken pipeline coverage

"Why is this moving so fast? Usually when we have something this massive that affects so many people, we make sure we have plenty of time," he said.

Bill Gerhard, president of the Iowa State Building & Construction Trades Council, contends the critics are off-base and a decision to approve the pipeline should be a slam dunk. "We already have thousands of miles of pipelines going underneath Iowa right now," he said.

The utilities board has issued an order setting aside a full day Nov. 12 for public comments. Starting Nov. 16 and continuing through Dec. 2, if necessary, the board will conduct an evidentiary hearing on the pipeline plans that will be similar to a court proceeding, Tormey said.

“In order for our state to continue to attract investment on this scale, we need a stable and predictable business landscape that’s not held hostage by opposition activists,” said Mike Ralston, president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.

The three-member board established the pipeline hearing timetable based partly on its own schedule with other board business and, in part, because the schedule may allow the board to make a decision within about 12 months from when the project's application was filed, Tormey said. It's same general time frame that state regulators are using in Illinois and South Dakota, he added.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MEETINGS

Here are some commonly asked questions and answers about the upcoming hearings, according to the Iowa Utilities Board:

Q: Can any member of the public come to Boone on Nov. 12 and offer a comment?

A: Yes. The board’s order states: “The Board will set up two microphones in the audience, one for those opposed to the grant of a permit and one for those supporting issuance of a permit. Those members of the public wishing to make comments should line up appropriately and the Board will hear from alternating commenters (so long as there are people waiting at both microphones). Reasonable time limits on each comment may be imposed at the discretion of the Board. The public comments will be part of the agency record but will not automatically become part of the evidentiary record in this matter.”

Q: Can people also submit written comments on Nov. 12?

A:  No. However, written comments (either letters of support or objections), are still being accepted by the Iowa Utilities Board’s Electronic Filing System, and those can be filed at https://efs.iowa.gov/efs/ up until five days before the start of the hearing. For help, people may contact the EFS Help Desk Monday through Friday, except state holidays, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at 515-725-7337. People lacking computer access may file written comments by mail to the Iowa Utilities Board, Executive Secretary, Docket No. HLP-2014-0001, 1375 E. Court Ave., Room 69, Des Moines, IA 50319-0069.

Q: Can anyone from the public testify at the evidentiary hearing?

A: No, only people who have filed with the Iowa Utilities Board (Dakota Access and any interveners) and who have been granted party status can present testimony at the evidentiary hearing. 

Q: How will the evidentiary hearing be conducted?

A: Board hearings have similar rules of order to court cases. Ultimately, the board will decide whether the proposed pipeline will promote the public convenience and necessity and meets all other legal requirements, and may adopt terms, conditions and restrictions as to location and route. If the company requests the right of eminent domain, the board will also decide the extent to which it should be granted.

Q: What will be the order for the testimony?

A: The evidentiary proceedings will start with Dakota Access witnesses, then parties supporting issuance of a permit, then board staff witnesses, and then witnesses for parties opposed to issuance of a permit. The Office of Consumer Advocate, a division of the Iowa Department of Justice, has filed a motion to have its witnesses present on Nov. 24; that motion will be addressed when the board has more information regarding the total number of witnesses. All of those witnesses will address general issues associated with the petition for pipeline permit. Following those witnesses, the board will hear from affected landowners who have intervened in the proceeding about any concerns they may have that are specific to their property.

Q. How and when will the Iowa Utilities Board’s decision be announced as to whether the pipeline project has been approved or rejected?

A: The board notes that even with post-hearing briefs, this schedule may allow for a board decision in late December 2015 or early January 2016, roughly consistent with statutory decision deadlines in the Dakota Access proceedings before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC Docket No. 14-0754) and South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (SDPUC Docket No. HP14-0002). The board’s decision may be issued as a board order, or it may be made at a board meeting with a written order to follow. That procedure has not yet been finalized.

Q. Can the board’s decision on the pipeline project be appealed?

A. After the board makes its final decision, any party may file for judicial review in Iowa District Court.