CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) — A judge says he’ll rule soon on whether a lawsuit filed by three landowners in the path of a proposed oil pipeline can proceed against the Iowa Utilities Board.
The Sioux City Journal (http://bit.ly/1OpiPaR ) reports the judge heard arguments from both sides Thursday in Cherokee, and will make a ruling within two weeks.
The landowners are challenging the board’s authority to give the power of eminent domain to an out-of-state developer. The pipeline would carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois, and would cut diagonally through Iowa from the northwest to the southeast corner.
Motions to dismiss the lawsuit have been filed by the developer and Iowa Utilities Board. The developer has said it would only resort to going through eminent domain when agreements can’t be reached with landowners.
