A recent letter to the editor published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette highlighted a sense of growing concern over a decision by the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) not to grant a full construction permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline. “I am concerned by the news that the Iowa Utilities Board has made a decision to not grant a full construction permit yet, but instead an order that is reliant upon more bureaucracy, more permitting and more time,” wrote Cedar Rapids resident Troy Henle. “These extraneous conditions only serve to delay the project, which is ready to start moving forward to help minimize the impact to the surrounding communities.”
Furthermore, Henle says, “The conditions, many of which read as a laundry list of tit for tat, mean a later construction start which could push Dakota Access work later into the season, disrupting the flow of a normal agricultural cycle. We need to have the earth removal phase completed before frost and this type of delay will only push us closer to that date.”
Henle concludes by emphasizing the need for clear and transparent action, not further delays. “I urge the Iowa Utilities Board, for the sake of Iowa’s farmers, to grant a full construction permit so that we can get back to the business of farming, and move on from the political wrangling that was Dakota Access’ approval process,” he said.