The Iowa Utilities Board will hold an emergency hearing on a request by some landowners to stop the construction of the Bakken oil pipeline. The IUB also has put a temporary hold on pipeline work on those properties.
A Polk County District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday filed by 14 landowners who sought to stop the construction on the pipeline until a lawsuit on the use of eminent domain is completed.
The judge says the landowners must first take their case to the Iowa Utilities Board to stop the work. The landowners then filed an emergency motion with the IUB, and the board will hear oral arguments in the case Thursday at 10 a.m.
The IUB says there is a possibility that the next phase of pipeline construction could begin to affect at least some of the properties before it can take final action on the emergency motion. So, the board is temporarily prohibiting Dakota Access from any construction or pipeline related activities on the property related to the emergency motion until Monday at 9 a.m.