DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Sierra Club Iowa Chapter has filed a lawsuit in Polk County District Court to block a planned crude oil pipeline through Iowa.
Wally Taylor, a lawyer with the environmental group, filed a petition against the Iowa Utilities Board and Dakota Access seeking judicial review of an order granting Dakota Access permission to construct a hazardous liquid pipeline. The petition was filed on May 26, and the case was created on Tuesday.
The Iowa Utilities Board granted the permit to developer Dakota Access to allow the Bakken pipeline to pass 346 miles through 18 Iowa counties from northwest to southeast. Construction of the $3.8 billion, 1,168 mile pipeline has begun in North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois.
The Iowa Utilities Board granted the permit on March 10, but no construction is occurring in Iowa because certain conditions of the permit have not yet been met. Landowners have also filed a lawsuit in the case, and others have intervened to raise concerns over cultural impacts of construction, including native tribes and the Iowa State Archaeologist.
The Iowa Utilities Board is meeting now to consider allowing Dakota Access to begin construction on land en route not under federal review.
