The Iowa Utilities Board has tentatively scheduled its review of the Dakota Access Pipeline to transport Bakken crude oil across Iowa. The board could act by the end of the year on the request.
The 350-mile project involves construction of a 30-inch diameter hazardous liquid pipeline crossing 18 counties in Iowa. Dakota Access is expected to ask for the authority to use the state’s power of eminent domain to condemn properties owned by persons who refuse to sell easements to this company for this use.
Full details about the schedule, the procedures and documents can be found at https://iub.iowa.gov/crude-oil-pipeline
If the company follows the tentative schedule set by the IUB, the board will consider this matter during public hearings in November and be ready to make a decision in December or early January.
Before the Iowa Utilities Board can act on this matter, it must receive a document called Exhibit H which lists every property to be included in the grant of eminent domain. In order to expedite the matter, the board has published the following tentative schedule, which runs on two tracks:
July 27 — all petitions to intervene in this matter must be on file with the IUB. Petitions submitted after that date will be granted only with good cause.
August 21–IUB staff will issue a report on the petition (except for matters related to Exhibit H) identifying any
additional matters that Dakota Access should address in its public testimony.
September 8–Dakota Access and any interveners supporting the pipeline must submit direct testimony and exhibits.
October 12–Office of Consumer Advocate and any interveners opposing the pipeline must submit direct testimony and exhibits.
October 26–Dakota Access must file rebuttal testimony and exhibits.
In conjunction with the above schedule, Dakota Access must also file its Exhibit H document. The company is free to follow this schedule or adjust its filing decisions. If the Exhibit H filing is delayed, the entire review process slides back.
August 10–Dakota Access may file Exhibit H.
September 14–IUB staff will issue a report on Exhibit H identifying any additional matters that Dakota Access must address in its prefiled testimony.
September 23–Dakota Access and any interveners supporting the pipeline must file testimony addressing the issues raised by IUB staff concerning the Exhibit H document.
If these steps are completed timely, the two review tracks merge on October 12th with the submission of comments by the Office of Consumer Affairs and interveners opposing the pipeline.
The Utilities Board has scheduled two weeks for the public hearing during the period between November 12th and December 2nd.
On January 20, 2015, Dakota Access, LLC, an Energy Transfer Company, filed its petition for permit with the Board regarding a proposal to build a crude oil pipeline (the Dakota Access Pipeline, a.k.a. Bakken Pipeline) across Iowa. Public informational meetings in each involved county were held throughout Iowa during December 2014. For more details, visit the HLP-2014-0001 informational page and review frequently asked questions about eminent domain.
Anyone seeking to file objections, comments, and letters of support in this docket may do so by using the Iowa Utilities Board’s Electronic Filing System (EFS), citing docket number HLP-2014-0001. Click on the “Submit Filing” tab and follow all instructions to log-in as a guest, upload documents and receive a filing ID number.