Energy Transfer’s planned Dakota Access pipeline will also transfer North Dakota crude to the Patoka tank farm. Construction is expected to begin in early 2016. The 177-mile Illinois portion of the 1,134-mile pipeline is expected to create approximately 2,000 construction jobs, at least half of which will go to local residents. Energy Transfer has agreed to employ 100 percent union contractors, including at least 50 percent from local union halls, including welders, mechanics, electricians, pipefitters and heavy equipment operators. Regional manufacturers of steel pipes, fittings, valves, pumps and control devices will also be in high demand.
N.D.’s rules promote prudent, responsible growth
While most of the nation rages on about the Keystone XL pipeline, North Dakota currently is undertaking three major projects that completely will transform oil transportation in our state while adding programs to better build pipelines.
When completed (in 2016, ’17 and ’18), the Sandpiper, Dakota Access and Upland pipelines will significantly reduce the current levels of oil transportation by rail to the safer choice of pipelines.
Let the IUB do its Job
Last week, a bipartisan group of Iowa lawmakers submitted a letter urging the Iowa Utilities Board to continue their review of the Dakota Access Pipeline project without imposing additional regulatory requirements. The lawmakers encouraged the board to proceed in the professional and unbiased manner for which the agency is known.
The Dakota Access Pipeline proposal is currently in the review process by the Iowa Utilities Board. The submittal of this proposal was preceded by meetings with landowners and the public, where the company, Dakota Access LLC, received input from various stakeholders including local community members. The approval process is fully independent of the Iowa legislature, removing any undue political influence. Governor Branstad has urged the legislature to allow the IUB process to run its course as well.
The MAIN Coalition applauds the determination of the lawmakers to maintain the agency’s independence in reviewing this and all applications. As the letter states, it’s vital that Iowa not become a state viewed by would-be investors as a landscape resistant to new development.
We believe that our region needs to continue to develop its energy infrastructure in a responsible manner. Our land is out most valuable resource, but it can be preserved and protected while still pursuing the important goal of energy independence. Ensuring that energy can flow safely and reliably to consumers will provide easier access to the investments that are so critical to growing our economy, and sustaining long term job growth.
It is our view that the Iowa Utilities Board has a responsibility to go through the all of the relevant data with care to evaluate the safety merits of this project. Construction of any pipeline is governed by numerous laws on the local, state, and federal level. Exhaustive surveys are conducted to ensure minimal impact to sensitive areas, cultural landmarks, and wells. The Dakota Access Pipeline is no exception.
We encourage the board to base its decision on the facts, and allow the regulatory system already in place to guide their decision making process. Let the merits of this investment be the deciding factor, and let’s keep rhetoric and talking points – and most of all, politics – as far away from the process as we can.
The full text of the letter has been published on IUB’s website here.
Proposed Pipeline to Travel Through Southeast Iowa
The proposed route for a pipeline that would carry crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to southern Illinois cuts through Iowa, including Jefferson, Keokuk and Wapello counties.
Dave Tormey, with the utilities board, says before a hearing is held, they are going through the extensive process of reviewing the petition.
Letter of Intent Signed For Pipeline Inspection Service
The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors considered a proposal from I+S Group to become the engineers to inspect a proposed oil pipeline that will potentially make its way through Mahaska County in 2016.
In December of 2014, Dakota Access held a local meeting to discuss the project with the community, which was part of the process needed in order for a permit to be issued by the Iowa Utility Board.
Dix urges lawmakers to stay out of pipeline permit process
Eight state lawmakers have sent a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board arguing that their Statehouse colleagues should refrain from requesting additional information from the board as it decides whether to grant Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners a hazardous pipeline permit to transport crude oil from North Dakota across Iowa.
The lawmakers include state Sen. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, whose district includes a large swath of rural Story County.
Eight Iowa lawmakers oppose more requirements for Bakken pipeline
Eight state legislators, including Senate Republican Leader Bill Dix, are urging the Iowa Utilities Board to oppose more requirements for a Texas company’s plans to build a crude oil pipeline across 18 Iowa counties.
The bipartisan letter, dated March 18, is not an outright endorsement of the pipeline project. But the eight legislators say a recent request from 15 Iowa House members who have urged an independent environmental assessment of the proposed Bakken pipeline does not reflect the beliefs or feelings of the entire Iowa Legislature.
Pipelines are already operating in Iowa
Ed Fallon’s walk to oppose the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through Iowa lends itself to another question; will he plan to walk the over 40,000 miles of pipeline already operating in our state?
According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, 41,140 miles of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipeline passes through Iowa, transporting vital energy resources and other materials daily and doing so with minimal imposition on the landscape and our lives.
Rail transport of crude oil, on the other hand, has a much more visible footprint and is much more prone to accidents like the fiery derailment that happened this month outside Galena, Ill.
Pipelines are already a part of our everyday lives, and most safely operate without any direct impact on the citizens of this state, or the residents of this county. They are a safe, reliable, and an efficient means of transporting America’s domestically produced oil and natural gas. For every pipeline we build, that’s millions of barrels of oil or natural gas that we don’t have to buy from a foreign country. This lessens our dependence on unstable regions, and keeps our foreign policy focused on the promotion of liberty and democracy rather than oil politics.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is just another piece of the puzzle. A safe, reliable, energy-independent, puzzle.
Dalrymple, Foxx Discuss Ongoing Rail, Pipeline Improvements
Gov. Jack Dalrymple Wednesday spoke again with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to update the secretary on the state’s ongoing work to enhance rail safety and pipeline integrity in North Dakota. Dalrymple also urged Foxx to adopt new federal tank car standards as soon as possible, and to enhance rail and pipeline safety programs administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).
“Secretary Foxx and I agree that there is no single solution to improving the safety of rail transportation,” Dalrymple said. “We have taken significant steps in North Dakota to improve rail safety, including the adoption of new oil conditioning standards to reduce the vapor pressure of crude oil before shipment. I also shared with Secretary Foxx the good progress being made on new oil pipelines and on other state initiatives for rail safety and pipeline integrity.”
Union workers show support for pipeline
On Monday, members of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) showed their support of Dakota Access’ proposed pipeline across Iowa at a news conference in Des Moines and delivered more than 400 letters of support to the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB).
In January, Dakota Access, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, filed an application for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit with the IUB, which has received hundreds of letters of both support and opposition to the proposed pipeline, which would be buried under about 340 miles of Iowa land on its route from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to a terminal hub in Illinois. Crossing 18 Iowa counties, it would go underneath about 25 miles in Boone County and carry up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily.