Northwest Iowa — There has been another vandalism incident involving the Dakota Access Pipeline, the pipeline that carries Bakken crude oil from the oil fields of North Dakota, diagonally through Iowa, including areas of Sioux, O’Brien and Lyon counties, to a refinery in Illinois. Authorities say damage in the latest incident is similar to that caused during an earlier incident in Sioux County.
According to the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, their deputies responded to a pipeline monitoring station near Hendrick, in southeast Iowa, where, they report, a vandal or vandals cut through a chain link fence and attempted to damage the pipeline.
Deputies say the vandal or vandals reportedly used a blowtorch to attempt to cut through the thick sides of the line, but only managed to leave burn marks on the pipeline without causing any real damage.
Law enforcement declined to comment on any potential leads in the most recent case of vandalism to the pipeline, but say the incident could be related to earlier incidents in Sioux and Mahaska counties in Iowa, as well as incidents in South Dakota. The FBI joined the investigation after similar damage was found in multiple states.
Authoritites say no oil leaked from the pipeline, and the public was never in any real danger from the attempted vandalism.
Dakota Access has reportedly increased security near the area, and Wapello County authorities say their deputies are patrolling near the site more often. The pipeline began pumping in late March.
