The Iowa Utilities Board was asked to revoke the permit it approved for the Dakota Access Pipeline Thursday during the public comment period of its meeting.
Zach Ide spoke to the board about the issue. He says the pipeline went across his property and the land was not properly repaired. “You forced this upon us, and now we are dealing with a company that is incompetent. They now we have a federal case. A federal judge has said the Army Corps of Engineers did not properly include the Native Americans in the process, in the permitting process,” Ide says. He referred to a case in North Dakota where the pipeline begins. Ide says the federal issue should prompt the IUB to stop the oil from flowing through Iowa.
“Today I am asking you to revoke the permit until further notice. They’ve got this mess in the federal courts, they need to get that situated until they continue to run oil in Iowa,” Ide says. “So please, revoke the permit.”
Donnielle Wanatee also made the request. “You do have the decision to revoke it and make them do better. What’s wrong with that? Nothing is wrong with that, you can do that,” Wanatee says. Wannatee is a member of the Meswkakie Tribe and has been a protester throughout the process of approving the pipeline, as has Ide.
The board listened to the comments but did not offer any response. The Sierra Club of Iowa and the Science and Environmental Health Network file a motion last week requesting the Iowa Utilities Board to revoke the state approval of pipeline project. The IUB is waiting on a response from Dakota Access to take any action on the request.