Dallas, Texas — Dakota Access, a division of Energy Transfer Partners has received permits from the Army Corps of Engineers to install the 350-mile long Bakken Oil pipeline, which will run southeast through Lyon, Sioux, and O’Brien Counties on its way to Illinois.
According to Dakota Access spokesperson Lisa Dillinger, on Monday, July 25th, the company received the Nationwide Permit 12 from the Army Corps of Engineers for all four states. She says that means Dakota Access can now move forward with construction in all areas. The action was the last official regulatory hurdle Dakota Access faced. She says they want to proceed as quickly as possible in order to limit construction activities to one growing season and have construction completed by the end of this year.
Dillinger says that in Iowa, the Army Corps of Engineers permits cover 63 wetlands and bodies of water. However, she says the Big Sioux River crossing between South Dakota and Iowa had already been approved when they received a Sovereign Lands Permit in March. She says that’s due to the fact that the pipeline will be installed by directional boring, deep under the river.
She says Dakota Access has signed easement agreements on 96% of the properties along the route in Iowa, and that they have signed 100% of the properties in North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois.
Groups opposed to the pipeline have challenged the permit authorization. Bold Iowa, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and other groups in the Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition say they remain steadfast in their opposition to the pipeline for environmental, social and moral reasons. They say direct action, rallies, and events continue to mobilize more Iowans who are opposed to the pipeline.
The groups say a lawsuit filed by ten landowners alleging that Dakota Access cannot legally be given the authority to use eminent domain is still active in the court system.
