Iowa pipeline delay denied; 300 protest up north

DES MOINES, IOWA » The Iowa Utilities Board denied Thursday a request by a group of landowners to halt construction of an oil pipeline beyond this week.

The three-member board voted in a brief afternoon meeting against a lengthy stay of construction of the Dakota Access pipeline on parcels of 14 landowners while a court considers a lawsuit they’ve filed. The suit challenges the board’s authority to allow eminent domain for a privately owned pipeline project.

The board concluded landowners have little likelihood of success in their court case and that Dakota Access would be financially harmed by construction delays, Chairwoman Geri Huser said.

Also Thursday, construction on the pipeline at a site in southern North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux’s reservation had not yet resumed. About 300 people are still camped out in opposition to the $3.8 billion pipeline, which will pass through Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota and South Dakota.