Pipeline not in Iowa’s best interest

To the editor:

The proposed Bakken (Dakota Access) Pipeline would cross Iowa diagonally, northwest corner to southeast corner. It would transport crude oil from North Dakota's new shale oil fields to refineries in West Texas' Gulf ports, where most of the refined oil would be exported. The proposed pipeline would terminate in Illinois, where the crude would flow into an existing pipeline southwesterly to Texas.

A different route could avoid Iowa entirely: a direct north-south link between North Dakota and Texas, through largely barren land.

So, why did the builders choose the Iowa route, through farmland that's among the world's most productive? Perhaps to save costs. Perhaps they perceived a more favorable political climate in Iowa to obtain eminent domain. The builders need eminent domain to acquire the land. Eminent domain is a government action allowed only for the 'public good.” But there is no public good in this for Iowa - just bigger profits for a Texas corporation at the expense of Iowa's environment and Iowa farmland owners. Enormous economic and political resources are pushing for this pipeline and eminent domain authority. For example, presidential hopeful Rick Perry sits on the pipeline builder's board of directors. But a coalition of environmental, landowner, and farm groups are mobilizing against it. Learn more at http://www.nobakken.com. Follow Ed Fallon's protest walk across Iowa on the pipeline route: http://fallonforum.com/.

Richard R. Lamb

Iowa City