Cherokee, Iowa — Northwest Iowans who are hoping to block the Bakken oil pipeline from being built using the power of eminent domain are appealing the latest court action in the case.
Des Moines Attorney Bill Hanigan, who represents northwest Iowa landowners, says a Cherokee County judge ruled against his filing of a stay in the case, so he’s appealing that move.
Hanigan says eminent domain proceedings are likely to happen on the land that’s not under appeal by the end of this month.
The company plans to construct the pipeline to cross Iowa diagonally, from the northwest to the southeast, cutting through 18 counties, including Lyon, Sioux and O’Brien. It will carry crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota, through South Dakota and Iowa, into Illinois. Hannigan says several administrative appeals on the pipeline project are pending in court.
Energy Transfer Partners of Texas, builders of the Dakota Access pipeline, has received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board to go ahead with construction in the part of Iowa that’s not regulated by the U-S Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps has yet to rule on the project.
