Des Moines, Iowa — Nine Iowa landowners have filed a lawsuit against the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) in Polk County District Court over the permit issued for the Bakken oil pipeline.
The suit filed Friday by the Northwest Iowa Landowners Association and individual landowners argues that Dakota Access, which is building the pipeline, does not qualify as a utility and therefore should not have the ability to use eminent domain to forcibly access property to build the pipeline across the state.
The Iowa Utilities Board decided in March that Dakota Access did have the right to use eminent domain and could proceed under certain conditions. The Davis Brown Law firm in Des Moines is representing the landowners and will hold a news conference on Tuesday at 3 PM to discuss the lawsuit.
In a news release, the law firm says they will argue that the Iowa Utilities Board has misinterpreted Iowa law, specifically the 2006 law designed to protect Iowa farmland.
The pipeline would enter the state near Inwood, and would cross portions of Lyon, Sioux, and O’Brien counties on it’s way to south-central Illinois.
