Texas company applies for pipeline permit

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Texas company has formally asked the Iowa Utilities Board to approve plans for run an underground oil pipeline through Iowa.

The Des Moines Register reports Tuesday (http://dmreg.co/1EnU3Qt ) that Dakota Access, LLC, a unit of Energy Transfer Partners, has filed an application with the state. The company wants to construct an underground pipeline that would cut through 18 Iowa counties.

The application includes a request for authority to use eminent domain to secure the land.

A Board of Utilities spokesman says the board has not set a timetable for making a decision. Farmers and environmental activists have raised concerns about the project.

The proposed pipeline would carry crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota across South Dakota and Iowa to Patoka, Illinois, where it could be redirected.

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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com