Builders back call to start Bakken pipeline construction by Tuesday

Dakota Access LLC officials say the company is preparing to begin construction on an interstate crude oil pipeline this month, and has secured voluntary easement agreements with 96 percent of property owners along its 1,168-mile path from North Dakota oil fields, through South Dakota and Iowa, to a distribution hub in Illinois.

The Texas oil company said in a Tuesday statement the $3.8 billion pipeline should be operational by late 2016. However, Iowa regulators have not yet signed off on the project.

Dakota Access requested to begin construction by May 17 and before approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, which has jurisdiction on about 2.5 percent of the land in Iowa. The Iowa Utilities Board still must rule on that request.

As a condition of granting the pipeline permit, Dakota Access agreed to wait for all necessary permissions, including from the Corps, but as the approval process dragged on the company estimated $1 million in losses per day construction was delayed. If construction spills into two work seasons, it would have an adverse effect on landowners and Dakota Access, according to a company filing.

Ed Wiederstein, chairman of the Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now, a coalition of laborers that would fill many of the 4,000 building jobs per state, supports Dakota Access' request.

If construction extends to two seasons, 'it would have a significant adverse impact on farm property where there is uncompleted construction,” Wiederstein stated in an Iowa Utilities Board filing. 'Among other things, it would interfere with fall field work and preparation of soil in the spring, which would delay planting crops resulting in decreased yields.”

Dakota Access states it has negotiated easement agreements with 100 percent of the landowners in North Dakota and South Dakota, 98 percent in Illinois and 87 percent of the 1,295 parcels across 346 miles and 18 Iowa counties. The company said it is continuing to negotiate. Approximately 168 parcels in Iowa haven't been secured, and nine landowners are suing to prevent Dakota Access, which was granted power to condemn land through eminent domain.

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com