DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa utilities regulators have approved a permit for 346 miles of crude oil pipeline to be built under Iowa farmland.
Over the objection of thousands of Iowa residents, the Iowa Utilities Board voted unanimously Thursday to let Texas-based company Dakota Access begin the so-called Bakken pipeline project.
The board also will allow Dakota Access the ability to force hundreds of unwilling landowners into easements using eminent domain laws. That is expected to bring lawsuits.
The $3.78 billion pipeline will carry about a half-million barrels of oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois.
Iowa was the only state that had not yet approved a permit for the project, which will stretch across 18 Iowa counties and 1,300 parcels of land. The pipeline will run from Bakken, North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois. From there, the oil is shipped to markets in the Eastern half of the United States.
The project is expected to employ 4,000 workers per state to build the 1,168 miles of the 30-inch pipeline. Dakota Access says 100 percent of the workers will be under union contracts.
The project drew 3,700 letters of protest.
In response, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said he will respect the decision.
“Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds appreciate the thorough, thoughtful and transparent process conducted by the Iowa Utilities Board in reaching a decision. The Iowa Utilities Board allowed many different stakeholders to voice their opinions on the Bakken pipeline and the governor and lieutenant governor respect the decision made.”
A press released issued Thursday from the Iowa Utilities Board said the good of the pipeline outweighs the bad:
“In reaching its decision the Board applied a statutory balancing test, which found the public benefits of the project outweigh the private and public costs with the terms and conditions imposed by the Board. The public benefits were found to include (1) significant safety advantages of pipeline transportation of crude oil compared to the alternatives and (2) the jobs and other economic benefits associated with construction and operation of the pipeline, projected to be at least $787 million during the construction period alone.”
According to a Des Moines Register online poll in February 2016, more Iowans favor the pipeline than oppose it.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
