Recent allegations by environmental groups including Bold Iowa have called the Iowa Utilities Board process, and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad biased toward pipelines and undemocratic. But the reality is, opponents to this project had equal opportunity to speak at the multiple public meetings and official hearings on the project, as well as the opportunity to intervene from a legal standpoint. And many did!
If the process was so undemocratic and biased, why was every citizen of Iowa allowed the opportunity to participate?
It seems to be just another hissy fit thrown by folks who didn’t get their way, and now want to criticize public servants for doing their jobs. It’s certainly not something the MAIN Coalition wants to stand for. We want to thank our public servants, including all members of the Iowa Utilities Board, for allowing Iowans of all walks of life the opportunity to participate in our government, especially when faced with such an important issue like the Dakota Access Pipeline.