Letter: IUB Made the Right Call on DAPL Optimization
The Des Moines Register recently published a letter to the editor by GAIN spokesman Craig Stevens commending the Iowa Utilities Board for its approval of Dakota Access Pipeline Optimization. Stevens highlights the importance of DAPL Optimization in strengthening the American economy and bolstering our energy security.
Read the full letter here:
In an important step towards strengthening American energy development, the Iowa Utilities Board last week issued approval to increase the capacity of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In a project known as DAPL Optimization, Energy Transfer, the pipeline’s operator, has proposed doubling the 1,172-mile crude oil pipeline’s throughput by constructing three new pump stations, in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Illinois. The company has also proposed making modifications to an existing Iowa pump station located in Cambridge in southern Story County, which was approved in the board’s ruling. The project requires no new mainline construction.
Last week’s approval was especially critical given the new challenges facing our nation in light of COVID-19. As we work our way together through these unprecedented times, green-lighting shovel-ready jobs like DAPL Optimization is a win-win. It puts Americans back to work by supporting hundreds of high-skilled jobs while also bolstering the economy and improving American energy security.
DAPL Optimization showcases the ingenuity of American energy innovation — being able to further invest in existing infrastructure to meet the expected energy needs of American consumers with little to no impact. When the economy bounces back from this pandemic, the American energy industry will be ready.
— Craig Stevens, spokesman for Grow America’s Infrastructure Now