PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Going forward, interveners in the fight over South Dakota water permits for the Keystone XL oil pipeline must submit written questions and seek subpoenas through a hearing officer.

The officer, Rodney Freeman of Huron, made the decisions Wednesday on behalf of the South Dakota Water Management Board. The lawyer is one of its members.

“It’s pretty simple,” he said after the seven-hour meeting concluded.

The board agreed to gather again July 17-18 in Pierre to plan further steps. Dates haven’t been chosen yet for the actual hearing on the permit applications.

TC Energy, previously known as TransCanada, wants to build the pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska. The South Dakota segment would run through Harding, Butte, Perkins, Meade, Pennington, Haakon, Jones, Lyman and Tripp counties. 

TransCanada applied for water permits in October.

The hearing Wednesday saw lawyers for the project, landowners who plan to host construction camps and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources square off against individuals and lawyers for Dakota Rural Action, several tribal governments and other organizations opposed to the project.