The Dakota Access Pipeline Project (DAPL) is a new underground crude oil pipeline designed to transport 450,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Bakken/Three Forks formations in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois. The project will require the construction of approximately 1,168 miles of pipeline through the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois ending near Patoka, Illinois.

The owner of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, has executed an agreement with the International to build the project union. Once approved, the DAPL will create thousands of good paying jobs for Operating Engineers and other skilled workers. It will also provide significant economic benefits to the region through the purchase of goods and services from local businesses along the entire route from the projected 10,000 employees working on the pipeline.

The DAPL has undergone an exhaustive nineteen-month review by the Iowa Utility Board (IUB). The IUB’s a lengthy review of DAPL included considerable public comment and environmental scrutiny. The project was ultimately issued a permit by the IUB which contains many environmental protections.

Unfortunately, environmental extremists, who are against extracting fossil fuels from the ground, are pressuring the federal government to perform more environmental studies on the project. Their goal is to delay this project as long as they can in hopes of ultimately killing the entire project. We cannot let them prevail.

The Dakota Access Pipeline will improve overall safety to the public and environment. It will reduce crude oil shipped by truck and by rail and increase the amount shipped by pipeline. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, pipelines are the safest and most efficient means to transport crude oil, according statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation.