Sheriff’s Department Investigating Pipeline Damage

Dakota Access Pipeline being installed in Mahaska County (file photo)

Mahaska, Iowa – Damage to the Dakota Access Pipeline was reported to the Mahaska County Sheriff’s office back on March 13th, 2017, says Mahaska County Sheriff, Russ Van Renterghem.

The damage appears to have been made to a safety check valve on the pipeline near the 2300 block of Queens Avenue inside the county. The hole was about the size of a pencil.

Of the 7 such similar sites in the county, only one was damaged, says Van Renterghem.

That location is near where protesters locked themselves down in protest to the pipeline back in November of 2016.

That group has stated they are not responsible for the damage to the pipeline.

At the time of the incident, no oil was flowing through the pipeline, but it was however pressurized with nitrogen gas.

Van Renterghem said that it appears the vandalism happened between March 3rd and 13th.

Van Renterghem says the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Department is working with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation as well as the FBI. The department is in close contact with departments in North Dakota where similar incidents have taken place.

Van Renterghem believes that repairs to the pipeline have been completed, but the investigation is ongoing.

Posted by on Mar 24 2017. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed

         

Search Archive

Search by Date
Search by Category
Search with Google
Log in | Copyright by Oskaloosa News