Decorah audience learns about the Bakken oil pipeline from someone whose property was next to the route

As protests over the Bakken oil pipeline make headlines and construction now enters Iowa, the Northeast Iowa Peace and Justice Center hosted a lecture on Friday afternoon by Harry Bennett to discuss the process of construction and what it means for the land.

Bennett, now a resident of Madison, WI, formerly lived on farm in Marion County, Kansas where a section of the Cushing pipeline was built near his land. Although not an easement holder himself, the pipeline was built nearly 50 yards from Bennett's property line and the process of construction had impacts to his land.

"They [build] it in the cheapest way possible with little thought to the ramifications downstream," Bennett said.

A flood event, during construction, wiped away a construction bridge which sent materials floating through Bennett's property. The construction and removal of topsoil, due to large machines on the roads, led to massive erosion in the area as well.

Despite these environmental impacts associated with construction, Bennett was always concerned for a potential compromise in the pipeline itself.

"Compromises happen, and we have to remember that, although these companies are doing the best they can to refine the oil sands, it still holds sand and that can be corrosive to steel pipes," Bennett said. "Even if it is 99.5 or 99.6 percent refined, there's still a chance that the pipe will be compromised and it would take a second to poison the land I had lived off for 32 years."

Ultimately, Bennett said that during the process of pipeline construction, the big oil companies have all the power in the situation.

"There comes a frustration having no power in the process," Bennett said, adding, "I can see why it would lead some people to resorting to civil disobedience."