Pipeline 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 the original version here.