I would like to respond to a recent letter published by ISU student Angie Carter. As a fellow ISU student, our environment and safety is a main concern for myself as well. Unlike Carter, I do support the Dakota Access Pipeline because it is actually the safest way to transport crude oil.

Carter referenced recent pipeline leaks and environmental concerns as the reason to oppose the project. I’ve heard Energy Transfer Partners’ presentation on the Dakota Access Pipeline, and I came away very impressed with the steps being taken to protect Iowa’s land. Today’s pipelines are constructed under much stricter safety guidelines, using vastly improved materials and construction methods compared to those pipelines decades old, referenced in Carter’s letter. 

Additionally, the majority of Bakken crude oil is currently being shipped via rail car and trucks that leave a significantly larger carbon footprint compared to a pipeline. The statistics are irrefutable that train and truck incidents occur far more regularly than pipeline incidents. This includes the 2013 disaster in the Canadian town of Lac-Mégantic, where a train transporting crude oil derailed killing 47 people. 

I too care deeply about our environment, so why not transport the Bakken oil that will continue to be produced in the most reliable, efficient and safest way possible?