YANKTON, S.D. (AP) - Residents who sign easements for a proposed $2.1 billion crude oil pipeline would be paid for crop loses on their torn-up land, officials with the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline said Monday.

The 1,845-mile pipeline would transport crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Patoka, Ill., with a possible extension to Oklahoma.

People who sign easement documents could not plant any large trees that could hinder flyover inspections and could not build any structures within 50 feet of the route, said L.A. "Buster" Gray, engineering and construction manager for the U.S. portion of the project.

But regular crops could be planted on the affected land, and TransCanada would cover agricultural losses for three years - 100 percent the first year, 75 percent the second and 50 percent for the third, Gray said.

The company intends to ship 435,000 barrels of crude oil a day through a 30-inch, pressurized pipe with expansion capacity to nearly 600,000 barrels per day. TransCanada hopes to start construction in the spring and have the pipeline operating by 2009, said Robert Jones, vice president of the project.

In North Dakota, the company proposes 218 miles of 30-inch pipeline in Cavalier, Pembina, Walsh, Nelson, Steele, Barnes, Ransom and Sargent counties.

TransCanada has asked the North Dakota Public Service Commission to consolidate its request for a corridor and route permit for the pipeline. The corridor describes the pipeline's general location, while its route permit details its exact placement. Hearings are scheduled July 23 in Valley City and July 24 in Park River.

South Dakota Public Utilities Commission members listened to presentations from company officials and comments from about 200 residents in Yankton Monday during the first of three PUC public hearings on the project.

TransCanada is trying to negotiate easements with about 5,000 U.S. landowners along the route.

At the meeting, Hutchinson County farm owner Oren Stahl said he's holding off on signing his easement after talking with a lawyer. Although the agreement lets him drive farm equipment over the buried pipeline route, he worries he'd be responsible for damage to the pipeline if heavy rains caused erosion.

"The easement gives me no rights and gives them all the rights," Stahl said.

TransCanada officials told residents they would be sending out more clearly worded easement documents to erase any confusion.

TransCanada manages 36,500 miles of pipeline and has agreements with more than 40,000 landowners, Jones said. "We've worked hard to be a good neighbor in the communities we have a presence."

The 220-mile path through South Dakota would cross Marshall, Day, Clark, Beadle, Kingsbury, Miner, Hanson, McCook, Hutchinson and Yankton counties in eastern South Dakota. A horizontal drilling technique will be used to run the pipeline under the Missouri River near Yankton.

The U.S. State Department is supervising a federal environmental study on the project, and TransCanada anticipates federal approval by early next year. States along the route also are being asked to approve the pipeline.

Others in the crowd asked questions about wildlife protection, noise from the four pumping stations along the South Dakota portion of the route and safety.

One resident asked about the danger of a pipeline explosion, but company officials said the type of crude oil being transported has a low flash point and there's no oxygen present in the pipeline.

Once the pipeline is built, it will be filled with water and tested at 125 percent pressure before the crude oil flows.

Jones said TransCanada will file an oil spill response plan with the federal government and the company has monitoring stations to detect spills.

Construction would involve up to 450 workers moving at a pace of around 1½ miles a day. A typical landowner would be affected by construction for up to 12 weeks, Gray said.

Jones said TransCanada doesn't own the oil it will be moving. "We're just the trucker," he said.

He also said the pipeline has nothing to do with an $8 billion oil refinery project recently revealed as a possibility for the Elk Point area.

The PUC planned additional public hearings Monday evening in Alexandria, Tuesday in Clark and Wednesday in Britton.