DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Utilities Board has begun meeting to consider whether to approve a hazardous liquid pipeline permit for an oil pipeline that will stretch 346 miles across the state diagonally from the northwest to the southeast.
Texas-based Dakota Access is building the so-called Bakken pipeline to carry a half-million barrels of oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois crossing Iowa and South Dakota. Iowa is the only state that hasn’t yet approved a permit.
The three-member utilities board set aside four hours each afternoon through Thursday to discuss whether to approve a permit to lay pipe across 18 Iowa counties. The board also must determine whether the company may forcefully obtain easements from unwilling landowners.
The company says it’s reached agreements with 78 percent of affected Iowa landowners.
