Utilities commissioners to hear public opinion on proposed pipeline

Energy Transfer Partners, a Texas-based company, began the process last summer of putting another crude oil pipeline route through South Dakota. The line will cover more than 1,100 miles total and carry oil from the Bakken fields in North Dakota to a refinery in Illinois, crossing through a dozen South Dakota counties, including Lincoln County, along the way.

Public meetings will be held in each of the counties along the proposed route. In Lincoln County, the line was originally intended to travel through the Interstate 29 and 85th Street area, but was relocated to travel along the western perimeter of Tea instead to avoid entanglement with a future development project.

[Edit: the article states Tuesday, Jan. 20, 5-8 p.m., as the meeting time; it will actually be held on Thursday, Jan. 22., 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. All other meeting information in the article is correct.]