Iowa Regulators Reject Request to Fast Track Oil Pipeline

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State regulators have rejected a Texas-based company’s request to expedite a permit to build the so-called Bakken oil pipeline through 18 counties in Iowa.

The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Utilities Board issued an order Friday refusing to grant the motion by Dakota Access LLC. The board said it wants to allow the parties reasonable opportunity to comment on Dakota Access’s pre-permit compliance filing.

Last week, the board approved the company’s plans for a pipeline that would transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields to Patoka, Illinois, but said the company had to meet certain conditions to obtain a permit.

Dakota Access say it’s met those conditions, including drafting a revised agricultural impact mitigation plan.