Takeaways: IUB Hearing on the Bakken Pipeline

The Iowa Utilities Board Bakken (IUB) pipeline evidentiary hearing has ended! IUB Chair Geri Huser has said that IUB won’t reach a decision until the beginning of February, but here are some key updates out of the end of the hearing.

• We thwarted another failed attempt on the part of Dakota Access to dismiss our testimony from the case thanks to our legal intervention team that you helped fund!

• We successfully placed the voices of everyday Iowa CCI members and landowners in IUB’s official case or docket on the Bakken Pipeline.

• The easements prepared by Dakota Access for landowners are legally comparable to swiss cheese- and essentially invalidated any verbal agreements made with landowners, and cannot verify whether or not the pipeline will even be underground!

• South Dakota ruled to approve the pipeline earlier this week- fortunately one Commissioner, Gary Hanson, launched a counter effort to deny the pipeline and is standing strong with South Dakotans against the pipeline.

There is much more to come in this fight. From escalated legal action, to challenging permits through Army Corps of Engineers and Iowa DNR- the ruling from IUB won’t end this fight for us.This entire process has demonstrated the IUB’s incompetence and illegitimacy in making this decision for Iowans- it’s clear that Iowans should be the ones making this decision for our state.

We will keep on fighting and standing strong with pipeline fighters across the state!

Be sure to stay tuned for more in coming weeks, as we move further into the holidays.