Pipeline opponents to state objections Wednesday

A newly formed coalition of farmers, landowners, environmentalists and others plan to lodge its objections Wednesday to a pipeline a Texas company hopes to build across the state.

The Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition will hold a press conference after filing a letter with the Iowa Utilities Board and Gov. Terry Branstad's office at 10 a.m. Wednesday, calling for the rejection of the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline.

The coalition includes the Iowa Sierra Club, Iowa Renewable Energy Association, Women, Food and Agriculture Network, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, and Citizens Climate Lobby, among others.

Dakota Access, a unit of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, last month formally asked the utilities board to approve its plans for a crude oil pipeline that would slice cross 18 Iowa counties.

The Utilities Board has yet to establish a timetable for making a decision on the application by Dakota Access.

The pipeline company seeks to transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's Bakken oil fields to Patoka, Ill.

Citizen and activist groups have challenged whether Dakota Access provided proper notice before conducting statewide public information meetings in December to explain details of the project. The groups also have raised concerns about the proposed project's environmental impact, use of eminent domain and economic impact.

In October, Branstad rejected pleas from community and environmental activists who asked him to issue an executive order blocking the proposed pipeline.