IUB gives final OK for Dakota Access pipeline

DES MOINES — The Iowa Utilities Board gave its go-ahead Friday for construction of the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline, but a caveat will likely keep construction from beginning immediately.

The board is requiring the Texas-based company to have other required permits in-hand from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources before breaking ground. Dakota Access, LLC has also committed to filing final versions of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan and Unanticipated Discovery Plan before construction begins.

Gary “Ward” Lenz, U.S. Army Corps regulatory branch chief for the Rock Island District, said via email Sunday the federal agency is in the process of completing a consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the pipeline. The Corps regulates construction on waterways of national importance such as the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, which Dakota Access has requested to horizontally bore underneath for DAPL.

Corps officials are also working with Native American nations on a tribal survey concerning some of the permit areas. This work could keep DAPL construction in Iowa from breaking ground for almost two months.

“We submitted a biological assessment to the (U.S. Fish and Wildlife) Service a week ago, however, we must wait until they render a biological opinion before we can complete our endangered species consultation,” Lenz said. “... If everything goes smoothly, we could potentially issue permits sometime in June.”

According to a statement by IUB spokesperson Don Tormey, the board ruled Dakota Access could continue clearing trees and shrubbery with hand-held tools with three conditions: Dakota Access has obtained a voluntary easement from parcel owner; has received permission from the landowner to clear the path on the property; and has given the individual county inspectors and landowner “reasonable advance notice” of the time and location of the clearing.

Before Friday’s hearing, there was uncertainty as to whether or not Dakota Access’ brush clearing constituted construction. Dakota Access argued this was pre-construction and did not violate conditions set out by the board’s conditional March 10 approval of the project. The three-member, governor-appointed panel ultimately agreed.

The IUB ruled Friday Dakota Access has “substantially complied” with the terms and conditions set out in its March 10 order. Six filings required by the board were approved including a revised agricultural mitigation plan, a liability insurance policy of at least $25 million, parent company financial guarantees to fix damages from a leak or spill, a timeline with construction notices for county officials and landowners, modified condemnation easements and a statement accepting the terms and conditions.

Energy Transfer Partners — parent company of Dakota Access, LLC — began pushing development of the DAPL in 2014. The pipeline would carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day through Iowa, stretching from North Dakota to a hub Patoka, Ill. ETP is hoping to lay 343.43 miles of underground pipe in the state, with 33.73 miles in rural areas of Jasper County from Mingo through rural Reasnor.

Iowa remains the state with the highest number of landowner holdouts in the four-state project, although 85 percent of Iowa parcels on the pipeline route have a voluntary land-use easement on file. But in a statement issued Friday, Dakota Access spokesperson Vicki Granado said the company is pleased with the IUB’s final ruling and confirmed the company has begun construction of the project near the Bakken Oil Fields.

“We are preparing to begin construction of the pipeline in all four states and have started construction on tank farms in North Dakota,” Grandao said. “As of (Friday), Dakota Access has secured voluntary easement agreements on 93 percent of the properties across the four-state route with 99 percent in North Dakota, 97 percent in South Dakota, 85 percent in Iowa, and 96 percent in Illinois. Dakota Access will continue to work with landowners to negotiate voluntary easement agreements as construction begins.”

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com