Published reports say a Texas firm proposes constructing an oil pipeline that would cut diagonally through some 400 miles of Iowa farmland, crossing 17 counties in the state.
The 11-hundred-mile pipeline would join the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota with an existing pipeline in southern Illinois. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin just learned of the proposal yesterday morning and says it’s too early to make a definitive statement on it until more detail is known…
“Generally, I favor pipelines over rail. It’s cheaper and it’s safer. I just want to make sure that if this is going to happen that it’s thoroughly reviewed, that it is safe, that we take into consideration aquifers and other water sources.”
Environmental groups in Iowa are sounding alerts, fearing a potential threat to the groundwater and the fertile soil that enables Iowa to lead the nation in corn and soybean production.
Reports say North Dakota is producing a million gallons of crude oil per day.
The route of the pipeline proposed by Energy Transfer Partners would enter Lyon County in the far northwest corner of Iowa, cut across the state through Polk County near Des Moines, and exit in Lee County near Keokuk at the far southeastern corner.
