DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some Iowa landowners are taking a different legal approach against a proposed oil pipeline, arguing in a lawsuit that a state board has no authority to grant access to private property for the project.
The lawsuit filed in district court in Cherokee County in late July says the Iowa Utilities Board has no legal authority to give developers like Dakota Access LLC the right to use private property for the pipeline. The lawsuit says Dakota Access is not an Iowa utility so it can’t utilize such options.
The three-member board filed a motion Friday to dismiss the lawsuit. An attorney for the board says they do not comment on pending litigation.
Dakota Access, a unit of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, wants to build a pipeline from North Dakota through Illinois.
