VIEWPOINT | We need a ‘Good Neighbor Policy’ for carbon pipelines

Guest column by Sal Roseland, South Dakota Ag Alliance

South Dakota has a long history of respecting landowner rights while also establishing appropriate guardrails for individuals and businesses. These issues aren’t mutually exclusive. Dating back as far as my 43 years can recall, South Dakota leadership has typically found a balance with ag processing facilities, corn ethanol plants, feed yards, wind turbines and other development. Carbon pipelines are not any different. The only difference is that we have not yet secured that balance.  

Like many landowners, I watched the real or perceived treatment of fellow South Dakotans during the early stages of the carbon pipeline effort. The pictures and stories boiled my blood - just like many others. Very few of us are technical experts on carbon sequestration, and it’s not my intent to advocate for them here. Rather, I’d like to point out that the market and consumers drive the value of our ag products and if we don’t keep up, we’ll get left behind. I believe there’s an opportunity with carbon sequestration, but only if we balance the scales and provide landowners with greater leverage in these negotiations. 

Further down the road, it has been said that carbon sequestration will eventually lead to technology that will enhance oil extraction. Just a few short years ago, every politician, save a few purists, were all-in on oil pipelines, and South Dakota already has about 10,000 miles of various pipelines in the ground. The irony with this debate has a lot of people wondering how did these discussions get so sideways? 

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