South Dakota Regulators Grant Dakota Access Pipeline Permit

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota regulators have approved a construction permit for a pipeline that will cross through the state as it carries North Dakota oil to Illinois.

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on Monday approved the permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline. Construction on the roughly 270-mile leg could begin early next year.

The 1,130-mile pipeline is planned by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners. The line is projected to move at least 450,000 barrels of crude daily from the Bakken oil patch in western North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, where shippers can access Midwest and Gulf Coast markets.

Opponents worry the pipeline could lead to environmental contamination.

The $3.8 billion project needs approval in all four states, but South Dakota is the first.

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