Court Rejects Landowner Challenge to Dakota Access Pipeline

Judge rules that the Dakota Access pipeline construction project can cross landowners property in Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A district court judge has ruled against 14 Iowa landowners who sued to block the Dakota Access pipeline from crossing their property, concluding that the Iowa Utilities Board properly approved a permit for its construction.

Judge Jeffrey Farrell says in a decision filed Wednesday that the board adequately considered whether the pipeline provides a public convenience and necessity and its decision to grant a license was supported by state law and evidence.

The landowners challenged the board’s decision claiming it was illegal to take farmland for a pipeline that provides no public service to Iowans.

The pipeline moves oil out of North Dakota across South Dakota and Iowa and into Illinois.