Unlikely allies join to fight pipeline project

• Register reporter Donnelle Eller %28@DonnelleE%29 will tweet updates from the pipeline meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday in Ankeny.
• Her tweets and a livestream of the presentation will be available at DesMoinesRegister.com and through our apps.

If politics creates strange allies, so do pipelines: Think farmers and landowners shoulder to shoulder with left-leaning university students, environmentalists and ministers.

"There are issues that transcend political parties and transcend the left-right continuum ... and this is one of them," said Ralph Rosenberg, executive director of the Iowa Environmental Council, one of the groups concerned about a 1,100-mile pipeline a Texas company has proposed building across Iowa.

The $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline would move up to 570,000 barrels of oil from North Dakota's Bakken oil fields to Patonka, Ill. The pipeline would cross 18 Iowa counties. It's bringing out hundreds of Iowans to informational meetings being held across the state this week. More meetings are planned for later this month.

A broad-based coalition opposing the project has been organized and is growing, said Angie Carter, an Iowa State University graduate student and board member of the Woman, Food and Agriculture Network. Carter is helping to organize a pipeline resistance meeting Saturday in Ames.

"We have members who have really diverse perspectives and normally wouldn't be in a room together," Carter said. "But they're united in their opposition to this project."

MORE COVERAGE:Meetings on pipeline plans start Monday | Should farmers make way for the Bakken pipeline?

Nearly a dozen organizations have joined the grass-roots coalition, she said, and she expects more.

Member concerns range from reducing reliance on oil to possible environmental damage from the pipeline, land rights and damage to crop and livestock operations.

Pipeline supporters are a diverse group as well, from advocates for increased energy independence to those seeking more jobs. Unions are supporting the project, which will require thousands of construction jobs.

The coalition opposing the pipeline is similar to coalitions formed to battle the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska, said Susan Guy, executive director of Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, a Des Moines faith-based environmental group that's a member of the newly formed coalition.

"My sense is that this will be that kind of a group — diverse constituencies coming together with a similar interest to protect our land, protect our water, and our agricultural productivity," she said. "Interests, I think, align on this issue."

In addition to the central Iowa coalition, Carter said, farm and landowner groups also are organizing in rural areas across the state.

"We have a lot of farmers, private-property folks and some county supervisors who are probably conservative about a lot of issues but are upset about the eminent domain issue," she said. "People are mad about this for a lot of reasons."

PREVIOUSLY:Oil pipeline across Iowa proposed | Concerns voiced at oil pipeline meeting in S.E. Iowa

If approved, Dallas-based Energy Transfer could access eminent domain powers to force landowners to sell their property if a sale agreement is not reached. Opponents question whether the pipeline provides enough of a public benefit to justify giving the developer eminent domain powers.

An economics group hired by Energy Transfer expects the project would keep 7,600 construction workers employed for a year. Strategic Economics, based in West Des Moines, estimates the project would have an economic effect of $1.1 billion over two years of construction in Iowa.

But Dave Swenson, an Iowa State University economist, said the analysis overstates pipeline jobs and economic effects. Among the reasons he questions the study: Iowa doesn't have many pipeline workers or manufacture the goods needed to support the project. For example, existing pipeline firms employ only about 245 workers in the state, he said.

"Iowa doesn't have the wherewithal to accommodate this project," Swenson said. "A strong fraction of work will accumulate to out-of-state employers who will bring in their skilled labor and then subcontract what they can along the way" to Iowa companies and workers.

RELATED:Iowa's pipeline safety record spotty

Energy Transfer has said it will hire at least half of the workers for the Iowa section of the line from the state. It's also reached an agreement to hire Iowa union workers.

The company said most of the pipeline jobs are skilled — welders, mechanics, electricians, pipe fitters and heavy equipment operators. Average annual income for workers would be $57,000. The pipeline would create 25 permanent jobs.

Energy Transfer also has said it expects to pay Iowa farmers nearly $200 million for the land needed to bury more than 300 miles of pipe through the state. Property owners, including farmers, can continue using the land as long as no permanent structures are built on top of it.

Rosenberg said even supporters of the pipeline will have many questions that need to be answered, including issues that center on possible leaks or spills.

Rosenberg, Carter and others said they're concerned whether the state has enough protections — from state government oversight to ensuring the company has enough money in reserve to address any harm caused by a spill.

Carter said pipeline spills in other states have cost millions, even billions, of dollars. She said the state requires pipeline owners to have only a $250,000 surety bond. "It's clear to me that Iowa's laws are inadequate for this project," she said. "We don't have the legal system necessary to hold this company accountable.

"Before we have a project like this, we need laws that protect the taxpayers," she said, adding that Iowa could create more jobs if it invested in developing more renewable energy, such as wind and solar.

Wally Taylor, an attorney for the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, said the group believes the pipeline will need to be buried under at least eight rivers, including the Big Sioux and the Mississippi, as well as several streams.

"We're worried about safety," he said. "We're worried about the rights of landowners. We're concerned about their economic projections and whether there are really any benefits to Iowa."

About the pipeline meetings

Here is the list of public informational meetings regarding the proposed Dakota Access pipeline, which would transport crude oil from North Dakota through 18 counties in Iowa en route to Illinois:

• Thursday: Ankeny Parks and Recreation, Lakeside Center, 400 N.W. Lakeshore Drive, Ankeny, 3 p.m.; DMACC Newton Conference Center, Newton, 9 a.m.
• Dec. 15: Sac Community Center, Sac City, 1 p.m.; Calhoun County Expo Center, Rockwell City, 6 p.m.; Boone County Fairgrounds, Community Building, Boone, 6 p.m.; Gates Memorial Auditorium, Nevada, 1 p.m.
• Dec. 16: Iowa Central Community College, East Campus, Triton Room, Fort Dodge, 9 a.m.; Bridge View Center, Ottumwa, 9 a.m.

Opponents to meet

The Bakken Pipeline Resistance will hold a community meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ames City Hall, 515 Clark Ave., in the council chambers.

Speakers include Dave Swenson, an Iowa State University economist; Erwin Klaas of the Citizens Climate Lobby; and Angie Carter, a board member of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network.

Allies split over another line

Another energy project could test the newfound alliances that have developed to oppose the Dakota Access pipeline.

Developers of the Rock Island Clean Line propose building a transmission line across Iowa to deliver wind energy from the northwest corner of the state to Chicago and other cities. It also raises landowner concerns about the use of eminent domain, but it has garnered support from several environmental groups.

"For us, it's an issue of moving wind energy to new markets," said Susan Guy, executive director of Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, a faith-based environmental group. The group supports Rock Island Clean Line. "We want expanded use of clean energy, and wind is a clean source of energy."

And while some issues surrounding the projects are the same, "we don't have to worry about a wind spill," Guy said.