Shortly after the Iowa Utilities Board unanimously approved the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued its own permit, authorizing the pipeline to cross publicly-owned land in the state.
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Workers prepare for new jobs with Bakken Pipeline
There are certainly going to be some long days, working on the Bakken Pipeline. If the legal hurdles are cleared, work on the project could take about a year to complete. And though these aren’t all permanent jobs, local laborers are ready to roll.
“We didn’t know which way the Iowa Utilities Board was going to go, but we were definitely hopeful that the project was going to be approved and it was,” Richie Schmidt, Organizer for Laborers’ International of North America. “And now, the real work begins.”
Read MoreA Bakken pipeline approved
Iowa Utilities board approves a plan for underground pipe. The pipe would run from North Dakota to Illinois. CNBC’s Brian Sullivan reports the details.
Read MoreStatements on the IUB’s Decision to Approve Dakota Access Pipeline Construction
I want to thank the Iowa Utilities Board for its careful and thorough review of the Dakota Access Pipeline project. This decision is a victory for Iowa, which will gain through the Dakota Access Pipeline much-needed access to a safe, reliable supply of domestic energy that will fuel our state, region and country. There is no safer, more cost-effective way to improve our energy supply than to build pipeline infrastructure. I look forward to watching Iowa draw upon its many benefits for years to come and thank the IUB for the careful deliberation and thoughtful decision.
Read MoreIowa Approves Dakota Access Pipeline
The Iowa Utility Board’s decision to approve the Dakota Access Pipeline is a crucial step in the right direction towards fulfilling the goal of constructing an energy infrastructure for the 21st century.
Not only will the Dakota Access Pipeline provide thousands of Iowa’s skilled men and women with a paycheck, the project will generate millions of dollars in revenue for the state during construction and after it becomes operational. While the American energy revolution may have created challenges for our region and our state’s rail infrastructure, projects like Dakota Access can help invest in our state and overcome these challenges with state-of-the-art energy infrastructure needed to move these products safely to market.
With the approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Iowans can expect to see revenue flowing into the state coffers for vital community investments, and allow thousands of Iowans can get to work.
Thank you to the Iowa Utilities Board for your important review and understanding of how to move our state forward.
Read MorePipeline is opportunity we can’t afford to pass up
I am writing in response to the recent Register editorial “Put conditions on pipeline approval,” [March 2]. It is clear that the editorial board’s viewpoint does not fully represent the interest of all Iowans, but rather emphasizes and amplifies the agenda of a vocal minority who have from day one refused to look at the facts of this project.
On the environment, the Dakota Access Pipeline has undergone numerous environmental reviews by both state and federal agencies since the project was announced in late 2014. Detailed impact studies and mitigation plans presented by Dakota Access have been supplemented by extensive reviews by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and multiple state-level agencies such as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. These studies have already led to project approvals in North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois, meaning that the notion of inadequate information is simply not true.
The editorial board is right in one way: There is too much at stake. The continued delay of the project’s approval has put thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in local economic investment in limbo. This is an opportunity that we simply cannot afford to pass up.
Read MoreIowans Criticize Out of State Activist
Iowa recently hosted a guest from Oregon, Paul Cienfuegos, who advocated for a community rights movement, urging local municipalities to ignore state law and set their own policy towards energy infrastructure projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. The visit generated criticism from many Iowans, including Ames resident Randy Page, who wrote the following in a letter to the Ames Tribune:
Read MoreDon’t let IUB’s work on pipeline be undone
The Register published an op-ed Feb. 23 written by Paul Cienfuegos, an Oregon-based community activist who preaches an anti-government, sovereign citizen message in response to the Iowa Utilities Board permitting discussions on the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Cienfuegos claims this issue can be resolved, to his satisfaction at least, by individual counties and cities taking action of their own. Nothing can be further from the truth or the law in Iowa. Iowa’s own attorney general has stated that though counties and local communities can enact local ordinances they cannot be in conflict with state law. Furthermore, as representatives of the people of Iowa, the General Assembly, has granted the authority to regulate pipelines in this state to the IUB. It is well within the legal purview of the board to oversee the open and orderly process that has led to the final permitting discussions on the Dakota Access Pipeline.
For a year and a half, the IUB has presented multiple opportunities for public input and held information-gathering sessions involving all stakeholders in the project. Comments have been submitted, testimonies given, and information has been gathered. Now is not the time for that orderly procedure and lawful action to be abandoned and unjustifiably stirred up by an out-of-state environmental activist, which would be an insult to the hard work the dedicated public servants at the IUB have done to ensure they have all the facts and information to make an informed decision.
Read MorePipelines Create Jobs Both On And Off The Job Site
Last week, the Mesabi Daily News in Minnesota published an article which highlighted the opportunities created for union workers by pipeline projects like Dakota Access. The thousands of miles of pipe to be laid, and tight construction schedule constrained by Midwestern Winters, require thousands of workers to turn out to ensure the pipe gets into the ground on schedule.
But the jobs benefits of pipelines aren’t just during the construction stage. There is an entire operation behind procuring the materials for the pipeline, including the physical pipe itself, transportation of materials, heavy machinery and equipment, all down to the last nut and bolt.
Read MoreLow Oil Prices Benefiting Everyday Americans
Everyday Americans across the country are benefiting from low-cost energy with the average price for a gallon of gasoline hovering around $1.75 and natural gas prices falling to historic lows. In fact, data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that households are spending less today on energy goods and services than almost any point in recent history.
In January, energy expenditures fell to less than 4 percent of total consumer spending, a sharp drop from only a few years ago. Consumers don’t just feel the effect of cheap energy at the gas station, the decrease in prices also translates to falling prices for consumer goods and services.
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