Iowa regulators: Summit can build carbon pipeline if other states get on board
Insurance policy, approval from South Dakota, North Dakota required before construction can begin
The state of Iowa has given Summit Carbon Solutions the go-ahead for the Hawkeye State’s portion of a 2,000-mile pipeline, but only if it first gets approval from its neighbors to the northwest.
The Iowa Utilities Board on Tuesday approved a permit for the Iowa-based carbon sequestration company’s long-planned pipeline, giving it permission to use eminent domain to access private property in Iowa along its proposed route.
NEWS: South Dakota’s Democratic leaders buck party neutrality on Open Primaries
“This approval represents a significant milestone not just for Summit Carbon Solutions, but for the entire agriculture industry as it seeks access to new and emerging markets, like sustainable aviation fuel, by lowering ethanol’s carbon intensity score,” Summit said in a statement released following the IUB’s decision.
According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the company intends to begin construction next year, with 2026 targeted for the pipeline, which would transport carbon captured from ethanol plants to underground storage in North Dakota, to become operational.
Summit has 57 ethanol plants signed on to its project, and it touts that landowners along 75 percent of its entire route have entered voluntary agreements to allow the company to cross their property.
Summit’s Iowa permit comes with the condition that it cannot begin construction in Iowa until it also gets approval to build the pipeline from South Dakota and North Dakota regulators. A $100 million insurance policy will also be required of Summit before it can begin building in Iowa.
Summit last year saw permit applications denied in North Dakota and South Dakota. Since then, Summit has adjusted its routes and continued to work toward obtaining favor from local, county, and state officials in both those states as well as Iowa and Nebraska.
The IUB’s decision comes the day after anti-pipeline activists in South Dakota submitted petitions to the state’s Secretary of State’s Office in hopes of forcing a public vote on a pipeline policy seen as favorable to Summit.
The campaign committee, South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance, is targeting Senate Bill 201. Dubbed the “Landowner Bill of Rights,” the pending law establishes a $1 per linear pipeline foot tax for counties to apply on projects running through their jurisdictions. It also stipulates half of those funds can be used to help impacted landowners offset annual tax bills, and mandates carbon pipelines be buried a foot deeper than what federal regulations require and allows the Public Utilities Commission to override county zoning ordinances in its permitting process.
The proposed referendum hasn’t yet been certified for the ballot. Regardless, Summit says it’s moving ahead with its project as planned.
"The momentum will continue as we prepare to file our South Dakota permit application in early July," Summit CEO Lee Blank said, referring to the IUB’s permit approval. "We look forward to engaging with the state throughout this process and are confident in a successful outcome."
Who ultimately benefits from this scam?
The biggest word in the headline is the word 'IF'.
The biggest question which REMAINS UNANSWERED is "Where is SCS going to bury this plant/tree-reliant gas?
In checking the 'Get the Facts' section of SCS's website, one will find the following statement in the 'Storage' sub-section: "Per studies performed by the Energy and Environmental Research Center and Department of Energy, the State of South Dakota has -250 billion tons of storage capacity below grounds. This is enough capacity to store CO2 in the U.S. for the next 50-years.
In their "Pipelines Already In Operation" sub-section, they state, "Captured CO2 will be safely and permanently stored in geologic storage areas in North Dakota".
Well folks, on August 3rd last year, North Dakota's Public Service Commission, same as South Dakota's PUC, DENIED SCS's route and dump sit near Bismark so, again, WHERE in North Dakota will this gas be sequestered?
On September 10th or 11th, South Dakota's PUC also denied SCS's permit application because it would violate county ordinances related to setbacks and other aspects along the pipeline route.
So some folks in our legislature decided to come forth with SB 201, misname it "Landowners' Bill of Rights" which removes the authority of county commissions, city councils and town boards to have their own property requirements.
Unfortunately, enough misguided legislators in both chambers supported the bill and worse, their governor signed it. the very same governor whose dad she quotes as saying, "Don't sell the land Kristi. God isn't making any more of it". In my opinion, her signature on SB 201 is a slap in the face to every one of those officials, the property owners of this state and to her father.
Fortunately, betrayed constituents removed 14 of those legislators from those trusted offices. To quote an A.T.&T. commercial, "CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?".
Now all we can do is wait to see the outcome of the referendum on SB 201.
Not all of us are "Judas Isariots".