Non-Iowans line up to speak in favor of Bakken pipeline

Out-of-state support for the proposed Bakken crude oil pipeline could flood in for the public comment portion of a hearing Thursday before a three-member state regulatory board, which must decide whether granting a hazardous liquid permit is in the public interest of Iowans.

The majority of those registered to speak in favor of the project - 60 percent or 80 of 134 speakers - live outside Iowa's borders, according to a list released by the Iowa Utilities Board.

They come from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, Indiana and Kentucky. Many of the them have ties to labor and trade unions.

'We think it reflects what we've known all along about this pipeline,” said Nathan Malachowski, a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, an opponent. 'This pipeline supports out-of-state interests.”

All but three of the 144 registered speakers opposed to the pipeline are Iowans, according to the list, and all three of the neutral speakers are Iowans.

The Iowa Utilities Board announced 210 speakers - 105 for each side - will be granted two minutes each.

Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Dakota Access, the Dallas-based company proposing the pipeline, said the company is not paying to bring in out-of-state supporters beyond those employed by Dakota Access or its parent company, Energy Transfer Partners.

Protesters have announced plans for a demonstration before the hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Boone.

The board required speakers to register to manage equal time for those supporting and opposing the project. The 1,134-mile pipeline would originate in the Bakken and Three Forks production regions of North Dakota, travel through South Dakota and 343 miles of Iowa, and end at a terminal in Patoka, Ill. Each state must grant permission separately.

The public comments will occur Thursday only, and presentation of evidence and testimony from landowners is expected to extend the hearing through Dec. 2.

A decision is expected in December or January.