The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), already hit by waves of protests, said Oct. 17 that construction equipment has been intentionally set ablaze, causing millions of dollars in damage.

“Dakota Access and Precision Pipeline are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible,” a DAPL press release said.

A DAPL spokeswoman said dozers and excavators were damaged in Jasper County, Iowa. It is the second time the site has apparently been set afire.

The Jasper County Sheriff Office said it received an emergency call Oct. 15 in which a witness described several pieces of construction equipment on fire near Reasnor, Iowa.

Deputies responded to the scene and observed three bulldozers and one excavator on fire, the sheriff’s office said. Three city fire departments also responded to the scene.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that fires were intentionally set,” Jasper Sheriff John R. Halferty said in an Oct. 17 news release.

The damage was estimated at about $2 million.

“This is the same location that equipment was believed to be intentionally set on fire on” Aug. 1, he said.

The Iowa State Fire Marshall, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and FBI are investigating.

Since September, DAPL has seen an escalation in disruption of work, including storming a construction site and the separate, but related, interruption of oil flows from Canada to the U.S.

On Oct. 11, protestors broke into fenced enclosures, cut locks and manually shut down several pipelines, exposing the environment and personnel to potential spills. Industry groups said the protests were a “dangerous stunt” that could have caused spills. Multiple arrests have been made.

The American Petroleum Institute has condemned the “dangerous tactics” taken to illegally shut off the lines.

“We are deeply concerned about the dangerous efforts by professional agitators to shut off pipelines as their actions present significant risk to human life, communities and the environment,” API midstream group director Robin Rorick said. “These extremists do not seem to realize that their actions could harm the environment they are trying to protect and harm human life including their own.”

Social media sites have also picked up images of apparent protesters with firearms.

“The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association advised its members to keep a close eye on herds after two separate incidents when missing livestock appear to have been stolen and butchered in proximity to the DAPL protests,” Baird Equity Research said in an Oct. 17 report.

Protests have intensified since a federal judge ruled that Dakota Access LLC could proceed with construction, only to be overruled by the Department of Justice, the U.S. Army and the Department of the Interior.

The federal government said the case has “highlighted the need for a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects.” Prior to approval, the Army conducted 389 meetings with Native American groups.

The $3.78 billion DAPL is designed to connect Bakken and Three Forks production areas to Patoka, Ill, where tank farms are located. The 30-in. pipeline will stretch 1,172 miles and initially move about 470,000 barrels per day of oil (Mbbl/d). The line’s capacity could reach 570 Mbbl/d, which would be about half of North Dakota’s production from the region.

The pipeline will also generate an estimated $55 million in annual property taxes for North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

DAPL has asked that that anyone who may have information about the arson or any other vandalism associated with the pipeline project call the Dakota Access Vandalism Hotline at 1-855-430-4491.

Darren Barbee can be reached at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.