Members of the Iowa Utility Board. (file photo)
The Iowa Utilities Board has denied a Texas company’s request to start construction of an oil pipeline through Iowa this month — before it gets all the federal permission slips necessary for the project.
Dakota Access has started construction in other states on the pipeline that will carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois. But the Army Corps of Engineers has not completed its review and issued the company permits for river crossings.
The company had asked Iowa utility regulators to grant permission to start construction in Iowa this week. Dakota Access argues the construction season in Iowa is shortened not only by winter, but by activity in farm fields.
Below is information from the Iowa Utility Board:
Dakota Access filed a request with the Board on May 10 asking for construction to begin on the project starting on May 17 except in those areas for which a pre-construction notice (PCN) is required. The Board has not yet acted on that request. In the Board’s most recent “Order requiring additional information from Dakota Access and establishing time for the parties to respond” issued on May 6, 2016, the Board ruled that they would allow time for the parties in this case to file reply comments to the Dakota Access May 10 filing and those comments were due at the close of business on Monday, May 16.
During the May 17 Board meeting, IUB General Counsel provided an update to the Board on the Dakota Access docket regarding the status of those reply comment filings which the Board requested in its May 6 order. General Counsel informed the Board that staff is reviewing those reply comments and drafting a memo to be delivered to the Board for their review, and noted that Dakota Access has not filed all the necessary permits and associated verifications to begin construction.
A timeline for construction to commence will be established by the Board once the Board has reviewed the staff memo.