The South Dakota Water Management Board has approved permits for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. After a dozen days of hearings held over the past nine months, the board unanimously voted on Tuesday, Jan. 21, to allow TransCanada, or TC Energy, to draw water from three South Dakota rivers.
The board also permitted Wink Cattle Company near Howes and landowners Dean and Lori Wilson near Buffalo to use water for the worker camps TC intends to build on their property.
TC has reported that it intends to start pre-construction activities in February, with first ground-breaking to occur in April. The company intends to complete the pipeline in two construction seasons.
