Letter: Lawsuit designed to intimidate residents

Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), with annual revenues of $40 billion, is suing people like me for legally protesting their pipeline. ETP's latest ploy is a billion-dollar lawsuit accusing us and our coalitions of being a criminal enterprise, racketeering, tax cheating and interference with business. The people I stand with include both ends of the political spectrum and have been fleeced by government and the corporation.

Our education began when the governor appointed three people to the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) which overruled our rights of private property and the protection of public safety. They sold those rights to an out-of-state corporation for ETP private profits. We filed still, unresolved law suits, attended meetings, signed petitions, wrote letters and were forced into the streets to educate the public.

What would a million gallons per hour of oil forced through the pipe do if it leaked into our water supply? We know our economic security is local wind and solar. Our future and faith is in stewardship of our homeland.

We asked the public to take their money out of this corporation and the investment banks which are financing ETP future over ours. The billions of dollars pulled out and moved due to the little people like us have significantly hurt ETP profits. Now ETP is whining through their lawyers and want to be compensated.

This lawsuit is to make more money at our expense. It's to intimidate us, divert attention away from the public interest and stifle citizen involvement.

Mark S. Edwards

Boone