Gov. Rhoden signs bill removing eminent domain for carbon pipelines

Populist groundswell for property rights led to revolt over Summit Carbon Solutions project

(Jonathan Ellis/The Dakota Scout)

PIERRE – Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a bill that strips eminent domain authority from companies building carbon pipelines Thursday, giving opponents of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline final victory.

That victory has been years in the making for landowners opposed to Summit’s ability to use eminent domain to get easements on their property for the project. Although Summit asserted that it negotiated voluntary agreements with the majority of landowners it dealt with, it also filed dozens of lawsuits against landowners who wouldn’t sign a deal.

The question of whether Rhoden would sign or veto the bill was the topic of the week at the Capitol after the Senate approved it with a nearly veto-proof margin.

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