Protestors following the IUB decision to issue a pipeline permit.
The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club is appealing the district court ruling that upheld the Iowa Utilities Board decision to grant a permit to build the Bakken oil pipeline.
Polk County Judge Jefferey Farrell ruled in February that the IUB properly weighed several factors, including the economic impact on the state and safety concerns, in granting Dakota Access a construction permit and allowing them to use eminent domain to gain access through 18 Iowa counties for the pipeline.
The ruling said the board correctly found there is no requirement that oil has to be shipped to or from the state.
The Sierra Club is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to oveturn that ruling and require the company to show the pipeline promotes the “public convenience and necessity” before a permit can be issued.
Sierra Club spokesperson Carolyn Raffensperger says in a statement: “the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to make the right decision and recognize that the true public necessity is clean drinking water and a healthy environment not a crude oil pipeline”.