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Post by Logan on Feb 10, 2016 5:37:58 GMT -6
State utility regulators are wrestling with the fact that the owners of nearly 300 parcels of Iowa land have refused to voluntarily grant easements for the proposed Bakken oil pipeline, which would cross diagonally through 18 Iowa counties. The Iowa Utilities Board met for nearly three hours Tuesday without reaching a decision on a request by Dakota Access LLC, for a state permit to build the 30-inch-diameter pipeline across 346 miles in Iowa. The board plans to resume deliberations Wednesday and is also scheduled to meet Thursday. Dakota Access, a unit of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, says it has voluntarily obtained signed easements for about 80 percent of the Iowa land parcels, which are primarily farmland. However, owners of the remaining 296 parcels could face condemnation proceedings if the pipeline is approved by state regulators who conclude eminent domain is justified under Iowa law. Eminent domain is the right of a government to seize private property for public use, in exchange for payment of fair market value. But that definition is posing a legal worry for Iowa utility regulators that may ultimately be resolved by Iowa’s courts. Read more: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/government/2016/02/09/296-iowa-landowners-decline-bakken-pipeline/80085982/
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