Summit moving ahead with pipeline hearings, PUC told project in violation of county ordinances

PUC legal counsel says regulatory body can't approve permit

South Dakota’s Public Utilities Commission. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

Summit Carbon Solutions will not withdraw a pipeline permit application through the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), despite the regulatory agency being advised that it cannot legally approve the project.

Summit filed a motion Friday afternoon with the PUC requesting the three-member panel still conduct at least 14 days of scheduled hearings — set to begin Monday — on the carbon sequestration's planned pipeline through eastern South Dakota, even though commissioners have been advised by the PUC staff’s legal counsel that they cannot legally issue a permit for the project.

"Because so much effort and so many resources have been expended in preparing the application and for this hearing, SCS asks that the hearing continue," reads the two-page brief authored by Brett Koenecke, a Pierre-based attorney.

The motion comes two days after the PUC denied an application for another pipeline permit as well as a ruling that the company requesting it — Navigator CO2 — must adhere to county setback ordinances should it ever get a permit.

RELATED: Navigator decision spells trouble for other company planning pipeline through South Dakota