Pipeline project hearings begin

Hearings have begun for an oil pipeline project that would move at least 450,000 barrels of oil a day under eastern South Dakota.

Dakota Access LLC is seeking a construction permit from the Public Utilities Commission for the South Dakota portion of the 1,134 mile pipeline, about 272 of which would be located in the state.

The evidentiary hearing on the matter will likely last two weeks, with commissioners focused on whether the project can be built while protecting the health, welfare and safety of the areas through which it would run.

The commission could approve the application, reject it, or approve it with a set of conditions.

During opening statements Tuesday, company representatives said the pipeline represents state of the art technology, as sound and safe as possible.

“The Dakota Access pipeline is a solid, sound project designed to bring U.S. crude to market,” said Brett Koenecke, a lawyer representing Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners.

The company will call witnesses to address concerns about safety, environmental and economic impacts, Koenecke said.

“We understand that there are going to be some tough questions, but we are here to answer them,” he said.

Opponents, including the Yankton Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes, told commissioners they don’t think Dakota Access will be able to build within the confines of the law.

Matt Rappold, representing Rosebud, said eastern South Dakota is home to habitat for many endangered species, and that pipeline construction or a pipeline spill would impact those areas.

The Sand Lake Wildlife Refuge is 44 miles from the pipeline route on the maps submitted to the PUC, but Rappold said the construction could impact the wider area.

“The entire pipeline route crosses over some of the most pristine habitat left for the whooping crane,” Rappold said, referencing an endangered bird species.

The tribes had asked commissioners at the start of the meeting to delay hearings for an environmental impact statement, but the PUC rejected that request, saying that South Dakota law requires a decision to be made within a year of an application. The deadline is December 15.

Even so, the commissioners said an environmental assessment could be required as a condition of construction. Commissioner Gary Hanson told Dakota Access he was surprised that one hadn’t been offered already, and that protection of wildlife along the pipeline route is key to approval.

“The environment is one of my top concerns,” Hanson said.

Glenn Boomsma, a lawyer representing landowners in Lincoln and Minnehaha counties, told commissioners that his clients represent longtime farm families whose land has been in use for generations.

The families are concerned about the Wall Lake aquifer and other groundwater supplies, but also fear disruptions to aging clay drain tile and soil health on productive land.

“This pipeline’s going to devalue my client’s property,” Boomsma said.

The city of Sioux Falls and the South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems also are parties to the public hearings on the pipeline. Sioux Falls’ lawyer, Diane Best, said the city’s concerns are with the impact of the pipeline on the operations of the city landfill and on the impact to the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System pipeline.

Dakota Access would run near the landfill and under a main line for the water system. As the city gets more than half its water from Lewis and Clark, Best said, a permit should only be granted under strict conditions.

“There are structures and fixtures at the landfill that need to be protected,” Best said.

The hearing will resume Wednesday.