Deadline today to sign up to speak at Bakken pipeline public hearing

The Iowa Utilities Board is requiring advance sign-up for speakers who wish to participate in a public comment period for the proposed Bakken crude oil pipeline hearing next Thursday, which is drawing backlash from at least one group.

The public comment is limited to one day, beginning at 9 a.m. on Nov. 12 at the Community Building on the Boone County Fairgrounds in Boone. The evidentiary hearing will run from Nov. 16 until Dec. 2, shorter or longer depending on the amount of testimony.

'While the original procedure was to accept speakers on a first-come, first-served basis, the large volume of public interest will require a more organized arrangement to facilitate more efficient presentation,” according to an Iowa Utilities Board order establishing the sign-up requirement.

The board will allow 210 speakers - 105 in support and 105 against - with two minutes per speaker. Initially the board was going to allow speakers on a first-come, first-served basis, but given the volume of interest, the board set the sign-up requirement, according to the order.

People have until 4:30 p.m. today to sign up. They can do so by calling the board office at 515-725-7300 and stating their name, address, and whether they want to speak in favor of or against issuance of the permit.

The 1,100-mile pipeline, which is being proposed by Texas-based energy company Dakota Access, would run from North Dakota through South Dakota, Iowa and end at a terminal in Illinois. The proposal to construct the pipeline. and the request to use eminent domain to secure land from resistant landowners in the proposed path, has generated backlash in Iowa. Of the thousands of comments filed with the board, opponents outnumber supporters four to one.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement balked at the requirement of allowing equal time at the public comment hearing for those opposed and supportive of the pipeline.

'It's clear that Iowa Utilities Board is trying to limit public perception on how many Iowans are opposed to the Bakken Pipeline,” said Nathan Malachowski, a community organizer with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. 'When you actually look at the number of objections that have been submitted to Iowa Utilities Board by Iowans, they greatly outnumber the letters of support from Iowans. Limiting public comment on this controversial issue is undemocratic and frankly shameful.”