Hundreds Speak at Pipeline Hearing

Hundreds of people packed a room in at the Boone County Fairgrounds on Thursday to speak and to listen to comments at a public hearing granting a construction permit for the Bakken oil pipeline. The Iowa Utilities Board has more than 200 people signed up to testify. They are alternating between those for the project and those against. Jonas Magram of Fairfield spoke against the pipeline.

“The board must reject the Bakken Pipeline just as the Keystone (XL) was rejected last week. The Bakken will contribute very little to Iowa’s economy. It will not reduce Iowa fuel costs and it will not reduce rail shipments of Bakken oil,” Magram says. Magram says the pipeline will bring many problems.

“It will create an unprecedented abuse of landowner’s rights, it will present a perpetual threat of catastrophic spills in Iowa, and it will contribute to climate change,” according to Magram. He criticized the Utilities Board for alternating the hearing between those who are for and against the pipeline, saying it gives the idea that the support is equal.

“The board’s own website shows that 60 percent of those scheduled to speak today in favor of the pipeline are not Iowans, whereas 98 percent of those who are scheduled to speak against it are Iowans. The same can be said for the letters that you have received,” Magram says.

“I’m a veteran and I’m also an apprentice with the operating engineers out of Local 234. I support the Dakota Access project for a variety of reasons and encourage the utility board to grant a construction permit for the project,” Walsh says. “The Dakota Access project offers the chance for not just myself, but for thousands of highly skilled workers to build their careers in the construction trade.”

He says the pipeline project will benefit him long after it is built.

“Rather than tens of thousands of dollars in college debt, I am gaining the skills I can use to build a future for myself and my family right here in Iowa,” Walsh explains. “The training that I will receive — as well as many others — the use of the latest technology and safety standards will ensure the safe installation and operation of the pipeline.”

Walsh says the pipeline will benefit everyone.

“A reliable domestic energy source is a better alternative than importing products form regions in the world filled with conflict and hostile intentions toward the U-S,” Walsh says. “The Dakota Access project benefits the local and state economy. When I am working on a project I spend my money at local restaurants, convenience stores, sometimes staying at local hotels. And I also pay Iowa taxes. That revenue supports other jobs and local economies.”

The two minutes of testimony were often followed by cheers and clappings on both sides of the issue. Some of the speakers went silent as the microphone was turned off when they hit the time limit. The I-U-B is not taking any action at the hearing, and will consider the comments along with others it has received on the subject to make a decision later this year.