Dakota Access Pipeline Maps & Routes: Where Would It Go?

dakota access pipeline

Dakota Access pipeline route. (Energy Transfer)

The four-state $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline has been the subject of heated clashes at construction sites, protests about sacred burial grounds, and legal battles.

The protests have drawn the largest gathering of Native Americans in 100 years to the reservation of the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota, where they are trying to stop the pipeline’s construction. Protesters say private security for the energy company pepper sprayed them and confronted them with dogs that bit some of them, including a child; the company and the Sheriff’s Department say protesters had knives and hatchets and injured private security and dogs.

On September 9, a federal judge ruled against the Standing Rock Sioux tribe leading the protest. The tribe says the pipeline could affect its water supply and claims its sacred burial sites were bulldozed.

However, the Department of Justice the same day put a temporary halt to the part of the pipeline that runs near North Dakota’s Lake Oahe, saying the government wants to review the permitting process used to approve it and meet with tribes to include them more in infrastructure decisions.

You can read the Standing Rock tribal lawsuit here. On the tribe’s website, you can find press releases about the alleged destruction of burial grounds; resolutions supporting the tribe; a donation link; and other information on the pipeline from the tribe’s perspective. On September 6, authorities said they may charge Green Party nominee Jill Stein with trespassing and vandalism for spray painting at the construction site, ABC News said.

But where would the pipeline be built, specifically? The pipeline would traverse 50 counties in four states, transporting “light, sweet crude oil from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois,” says the company trying to build it, Dakota Access, LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners.

The map above shows the entire route.

The pipeline would run through four states. Here are the route maps for each state:

North Dakota

Dakota Access Pipeline map

The project map for North Dakota. (Energy Transfer)

You can view additional route maps for North Dakota here.

The company says: “The Dakota Access pipeline will be underground and covered by a minimum of three feet of soil and more if the pipe is crossing unique land formations, such as agricultural areas, roads, or rivers, lakes and streams.”

Native Americans, environmentalists and some others are concerned that the pipeline could harm the water supply, destroy sacred sites, and possibly leak. The company says the pipeline will reduce dependence on foreign oil, bring jobs, and contribute tax dollars to the economy.


South Dakota

Dakota Access Pipeline south dakota

The project map for South Dakota. (Energy Transfer)

You can view additional route maps for South Dakota here.

“In most, if not all cases, homes will not be located closer than a few hundred feet,” says the company.


Iowa

dakota access pipeline iowa

The project map for Iowa.
(Energy Transfer)

You can see additional maps for the route in Iowa here.

The company says that land owners “are entitled by law to receive compensation for having a pipeline on their property.”


Illinois

dakota access pipeline illinois

The project map for Illinois. (Energy Transfer)

You can see additional route maps for Illinois here.

The company has established a toll free number and will provide more detailed maps to those who request them. The number is: 1-844-708-2639.