A recent letter to the editor published in the Des Moines Register, argues that the Dakota Access Pipeline would “drastically reduce property values.” Not surprisingly, the author of this piece makes no effort to employ any actual data to support this groundless claim (hint: likely because it does not exist). The fact of the matter is that it only takes a quick Google search to reveal a fair amount of research capable of easily disproving this claim.
In fact, a study commissioned by the non-partisan Pipeline Safety Trust and published in the Journal of Real Estate Literature found that, “there is no systematic evidence, based on actual sales data, that proximity to pipelines reduces property values.” Adding to that, a report, “Pipeline Impact to Property Value and Property Insurability,” prepared on behalf of the INGAA Foundation concludes that the presence of pipelines does not affect a property’s insurability, desirability, or the ability to obtain a mortgage.
Furthermore, the author writes that a landowner could be held responsible for any damage caused by the pipeline, despite the fact that Dakota Access has explicitly stated that they are 100% liable.
Sure, it may be fun to lob baseless claims around in the interest of promoting own agenda, but the facts speak for themselves, and in this case, tell a very different story