Dates set for Bakken deliberations

State utility regulators have set four days in February to 'deliberate on the issues” for a proposed underground crude oil pipeline to cross 346 miles through 18 Iowa counties, and possibly grant eminent domain to condemn land in its wake.

The three-member Iowa Utilities Board has said it anticipates ruling in February on the request for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit by Dakota Access, a Texas-based subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners.

But it is not clear if the decision will come at the meeting.

'If the board reaches a decision during these meetings, a decision is not final until the written board order is issued,” according to an announcement on the IUB website.

The public meetings will be held 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 8-11 in the IUB's hearing room, 1375 E. Court St., Des Moines, according to a meeting notice released on Tuesday. The meetings will be live-streamed.

Dakota Access is proposing a $3.8 billion, 30-inch-diameter pipeline to carry up to 570,000 barrels of oil per day 1,134 miles from the Three Forks and Bakken region of North Dakota, through South Dakota and Iowa, to a terminal in Patoka, Ill. From there, the oil will go to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

South Dakota was the first to approve the request, followed by Illinois in December. North Dakota has yet to rule, but a decision is expected this month.

The biggest stretch of the pipeline passes through Iowa. Dakota Access had hoped to begin construction early this year and have the pipeline operational by the end of the year.

The company has urged the IUB to speed up its decision making.

The IUB held a 12-day hearing that concluded Dec. 7, during which Dakota Access, land owners, environmental experts and other testified. The IUB has ordered all post-hearing briefs and responses be filed by Feb. 2.

Farmers, private-property-rights activists and environmentalists have opposed the pipeline, citing possible spills. Union works have been primary proponents.

Dakota Access has touted the economic benefits of jobs, construction spending and tax revenue.