Rally activists say Bakken pipeline would harm Iowa
Opponents of the proposed Bakken crude oil pipeline held an Earth Day rally at the Iowa Capitol on Wednesday, contending the facility would be bad for the environment and contribute to climate change.
The event coincided with the completion of a statewide walk across the entire 343-mile pipeline route by former state legislator Ed Fallon of Des Moines, an anti-pipeline activist. He began his trek in early March in southeast Iowa, meeting with landowners and others along the way. He finished by walking seven miles Wednesday morning to the Big Sioux River in northwest Iowa's Lyon County.
"I am in this for the long haul. The people I meet are counting on us," Fallon told a crowd of about 100 people who cheered as speakers criticized the pipeline project.
Fallon said he's especially encouraged by how many property owners want to fight the pipeline and he urged support for state legislation to restrict the use of eminent domain to secure easements on private land for the project.
State Rep. Dan Kelley, D-Newton, said the pipeline is not a done deal. "We are making progress. We can stop this project."
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The pipeline, which would transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily, is proposed by Dakota Access LLC, a unit of Energy Transfer Partners LP of Dallas. It would carry oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa en route to Patoka, Ill., where it could continue to the Texas Gulf Coast via another pipeline or be loaded onto rail tank cars. The company says the pipeline can help make the United States more energy-independent and less reliant on foreign oil supplies.
The pipeline company's plans are pending before the Iowa Utilities Board.
State Sen. Robert Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, who has written a book on climate change, said the Bakken pipeline project would be unprecedented in Iowa history and would pose a threat to the state's land and water.
"It is not a matter of if an oil spill will happen. They do happen, and it is devastating when they happen," Hogg said. He added that the greenhouse gases resulting from the oil used by the pipeline would be equal to that produced by 16 major coal-fired electrical generating plants.
Daenna Newkirk, 46, of Des Moines, who held a sign opposing the pipeline at the rally, said she is concerned about negative environmental impacts. "I am somebody that found out she had lupus from chemicals that are already in the water. My DNA has been poisoned forever," she said.
The company says that for Iowa, the project would have an economic impact of $1.1 billion during two years of construction, creating enough work to keep 7,600 workers employed for a year. Company officials estimate making $60 million in easement payments to Iowa property owners whose land the pipeline would cross.
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They also say the pipeline would contribute $27 million annually in Iowa property taxes and it would provide much-needed infrastructure to transport domestically produced crude oil to U.S. refining markets.
Pipeline company officials say many steps will be taken to protect the environment during the pipeline project's construction and once it begins operating. They point out that besides regulatory oversight from the Iowa Utilities Board, the pipeline project is subject to regulations of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and federal environmental laws that include the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Rivers and Harbor Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Historical Preservation Act.
The company also says Dakota Access has also filed for permits with, provided information to, or is engaged in required consultations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Iowa State Historical Preservation Office and numerous state entities and subdivisions.