Dallas, TX — Officials with the Dakota Access Pipeline are working to secure the needed easements in preparation for construction of the 11-hundred-plus-mile crude oil pipeline — part of which is planned to cut through portions of Lyon, Sioux, and O’Brien counties.
State leaders in North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois have signed on, but Dakota Access is still waiting on Iowa to give its formal okay. Vicki Granado, spokeswoman for Dakota Access, says it’s all still pending in Iowa.
She says the hearings in Iowa have helped clear up a lot of misconceptions about the pipeline.
Granado says after the pipeline is built, the land returns to its former purpose.
That’s because the company will need access to the pipeline for routine operation and maintenance. During construction, Granado says Dakota Access will pay substantial state sales taxes to all four states, in addition to property taxes once the pipeline is in service. She says the company will employ up to 4,000 construction workers per state to build the 1,168 miles of 30-inch pipeline.
Dakota Access has signed voluntary easement agreements with landowners representing more than 85 percent of the properties along the four-state route. Currently, 89 percent of the properties in North Dakota, 92 percent in South Dakota, 78 percent in Iowa and 87 percent in Illinois have been signed. Project representatives will continue easement negotiations with landowners during the coming months.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is a $3.78 billion infrastructure project that will transport approximately 450,000 barrels per day, with a capacity as high as 570,000 barrels per day, of domestically produced light sweet crude oil from the Bakken and Three Forks production areas in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois, where shippers will be able to access multiple markets including Midwest, East Coast and Gulf Coast regions.
