(The Center Square) – The path to a 2,500-mile carbon dioxide pipeline has had its share of twists and turns. More detours could be coming.
Summit Carbon Solutions announced the pipeline in December 2021. The project includes Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota and ends in a carbon capture facility in North Dakota.
“This investment in the future of agriculture will capture carbon dioxide from the fermentation process of biorefineries, such as ethanol plants, compress the captured CO2, and channel it to North Dakota where it will be permanently and safely stored underground in deep geologic storage locations,” the company said on its project map. “Doing so will drastically reduce the carbon footprint of ethanol production and enhance the long-term economic viability of the ethanol and agriculture industries.”
Not everyone is on board with the project, and it continues to draw ire from residents in its path who don’t want to cede their property for the pipeline.
The Iowa Utilities Commission approved Summit’s application this month with one caveat – the company must get approval from South Dakota and North Dakota regulators before construction can begin. Some residents want the IUC to reconsider.
“Eminent domain is a threat to democracy when private investors propose a project that is NOT NEEDED, is DESTRUCTIVE, and more importantly is NOT WANTED BY THE PUBLIC,” Yankton’s Rose Mather said in an online filing with the IUC. “Nine hundred eminent domain easements are needed. Summit’s destructive pipeline would dictate and restrict what can be done in Iowa well into future.”
The public will get another chance to face Summit officials when the IUC holds hearings on expanding the pipeline. The company announced in March it was adding eight Valero ethanol facilities in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota.
Biofuel company POET announced in January that it would join the project with 12 facilities in Iowa and five facilities in South Dakota.
The IUC will hold a series of community meetings about the expansion in August and September, beginning on Aug. 26 in Corning and ending on Sept. 20 in Lakeside.
Iowa is not the only state where residents and regulators have not been on board with the project.
The South Dakota Public Service Commission rejected Summit’s application. The company plans to appeal.
The South Dakota Supreme Court is considering a challenge by homeowners there. Voters will also get a chance in November to decide if a bill passed by lawmakers should become law.
Senate Bill 201, dubbed the “Landowners Bill of Rights,” would allow the South Dakota Public Service Commission to overrule city and county ordinances if considered too “burdensome.” The bill does allow cities and counties to impose a tax on pipelines.
“When asked what the impact would be if voters reject SB 201, a company spokesperson said in an email to The Center Square: “We are committed to working with landowners to have a successful pipeline route in South Dakota, and will file that application soon. The Landowner Bill of Rights is pro farmer, pro ethanol and pro business. It protects landowners and provides property tax relief.”
North Dakota regulators also rejected Summit’s initial application. The company said in December that more than 80% of the homeowners in the pipeline’s path ceded right-of-way. Summit scored another victory in May when the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that Summit’s entry onto private property was “minimally invasive” and not unconstitutional. The company held hearings in North Dakota earlier this year after reapplying.
The IUC order did not mention Nebraska or Minnesota, but Summit has hurdles in those states. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is currently reviewing the project.
“The Commission anticipates the final EIS for the project will be issued on July 31, 2024,” said spokesman Charley Bruce in an email to The Center Square. “Public hearings will be held on August 20 – 21, 2024. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will then submit a report to the Commission in early November 2024. A final decision from the Commission will likely occur in early 2025.”
In Nebraska, the Stanton County Commission denied Summit’s application, according to News Channel Nebraska Central. Summit can resubmit its application.
