Iowa landowners file suit over Bakken pipeline
A group of nine Iowa landowners is suing Iowa utility regulators over the state's decision to authorize the use of eminent domain to access land for the Bakken oil pipeline, which will cross through 18 Iowa counties.
The lawsuit was filed in Polk County District Court against the Iowa Utilities Board on Friday on behalf of the Northwest Iowa Landowners Association and individual landowners. Lawyer Bill Hanigan of the Davis Brown Law Firm in Des Moines is representing the property owners.
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The suit contends that Dakota Access LLC, which plans the underground pipeline, does not qualify as a utility and should not have the ability to use eminent domain to build a pipeline to transport crude oil through Iowa. Eminent domain is power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use in return for fair-market compensation. The petition identifies Dakota Access as a subsidiary of Phillips 66 and Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners.
A statement from the Davis Brown firm issued Monday said its clients contend the Iowa Utilities Board has misinterpreted Iowa law, specifically a 2006 state law designed to protect farmland.
The plaintiffs' petition says the board's decision to grant eminent domain would violate the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment, which requires a public use, public purpose or public improvement to justify taking private land. The lawsuit also contends the Iowa Constitution's Article I, Section 18, limits the exercise of eminent domain and protects the plaintiffs' rights to possess and protect their own property.
"This will be the first opportunity for our clients to seek judicial review of Dakota Access' eminent domain application. In addition to our own suit in Polk County, we expect that many similar eminent domain lawsuits will arise as land is condemned in the impacted counties," the Davis Brown statement said.
The planned Bakken pipeline will transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's Bakken oil production area through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution hub in Patoka, Ill. Dakota Access said last week it is preparing to start construction on the $3.78 billion project in all four states and it has begun construction on tank farms in North Dakota. The pipeline construction project, which will employ an army of thousands of workers, is expected to take about nine months.
The Iowa Utilities Board voted 3-0 on March 10 to approve plans for the pipeline on a 346-mile route through Iowa, including the right to use eminent domain to obtain easements on farmland and other properties. The state board then voted last week to allow construction on the pipeline to begin in Iowa, pending the approval of permits by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the filing by Dakota Access of two additional plans.
MORE: Complete coverage on the Bakken oil pipeline
Dakota Access reported Friday it had acquired voluntary easements for 85 percent of the 1,295 tracts of land along the Iowa section of the pipeline route. That means the owners of about 195 parcels of land have not agreed to grant easements to allow the pipeline to be constructed on their properties.
Neither the Iowa Utilities Board nor Dakota Access officials responded immediately Monday night in response to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs said they plan to hold a news conference in Des Moines on Wednesday. The participants will include landowners Keith Puntenney, LaVerne Johnson, Cyndy Coppola and four others.