The Des Moines Register reports Iowa State regulators gave the go-ahead Monday for construction to start on the Bakken oil pipeline in Iowa, despite a complaint by the Sierra Club that the action is illegal.

In May, ND, SD and IL  started construction leaving Iowa as the lone holdout

The approval by the Iowa Utilities Board authorizes Texas-based Dakota Access LLC to begin digging on land outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which hasn’t granted permits for water crossings, and where other authorizations have been provided. That means construction can begin on the vast majority of the project, which will primarily cross Iowa farmland.

route

The vote to allow construction to proceed was 2-1.  Construction started last month on the $3.78 billion underground pipeline project in North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois, and Iowa business and labor groups had strongly urged state regulators to allow work to begin here. An estimated 2,000 to 4,000 construction workers are expected to be employed on the Iowa section of the pipeline.

“This has been a long time coming, and we are very pleased,” said Chad Carter, business agent and vice president of Local 234 of the Operating Engineers in Des Moines, which represents heavy equipment operators. He said he anticipates that workers will be in the field seven days a week, up to 12 to 14 hours a day, in a push to get the pipeline operating by late this year.

The pipeline still faces several lawsuits from property owners who object to the use of eminent domain to secure access to farmland for the project. A decision on the eminent domain issue could ultimately be decided by the Iowa Supreme Court.

Kevin Baskins, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said Monday that a sovereign lands construction permit for the pipeline has not been revoked by state officials, but a stop order has been issued until archaeological aspects have been addressed.

Dakota Access spokesman Lisa Dillinger said the company plans to begin construction in appropriate areas as soon as possible. She said proper notifications have been provided to landowners, allowing work to start immediately. The company hopes to have the pipeline in operation in the fourth quarter of this year, she added.

But no details are being provided about exactly where pipeline construction will begin in Iowa.

“Pipeline construction does not typically start at one end and progress continuously, but instead takes place in separate “spreads” along the route with multiple spreads under construction at the same time. At this time, we are not providing specifics as to the construction sites,” Dillinger said.

The push for completion of the Bakken pipeline comes as many major fossil fuel projects across the United States have been shelved or significantly delayed because of new regulations, grassroots opposition and a decline in energy prices. More than a dozen projects, worth about $33 billion, have either been rejected by regulators or withdrawn since 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

The 30-inch-diameter Bakken pipeline typically will carry about 450,000 barrels per day, with capacity of up to 570,000 barrels per day. The route will begin in the Bakken oil fields near Stanley, N.D., and end at Patoka, Ill., where the oil can be transported via another pipeline to the Gulf Coast or shipped to other markets.

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