Summit CO2 pipeline applies for state permit, seeks eminent domain option

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Summit Carbon Solutions has officially filed for a state permit to build a hazardous liquid pipeline to carry captured carbon dioxide away for underground storage, and it has asked the Iowa Utilities Board to give it the ability to use eminent domain to force easements with those property owners who refuse to grant access voluntarily.

Summit filed the application with the IUB last Friday in a multi-part document that outlined the proposed project, listed its public purpose and gave the legal descriptions and provided maps of the route the pipeline would take.

It did not include a list or a number of properties where owners had agreed already to sign easement agreements, or how many properties would require the use of eminent domain for the project to proceed.

“Petitioner is requesting the use of the right of eminent domain for securing right-of-way for the proposed pipeline project. Specific description of the lands sought to be condemned is shown on Exhibit ‘H,’ attached and incorporated by reference,” the application said.

There was no Exhibit “H” filed with the permit application in the IUB docket.

“It is uncertain at this time whether and to what extent the right of eminent domain will be required. Summit will update Exhibit ‘H’ prior to the hearing being scheduled or pursuant to the procedural schedule,” the application said.

Opponents of the project have latched on to the absence of a list as what they see as evidence that the project is receiving little support from those who will be affected by it.

A statement released by the Sierra Club cites what it calls “overwhelming opposition from landowners, counties and everyday Iowans.”

“Sierra Club Iowa Chapter points to the long list of objections submitted to the IUB, the tone of the informational meetings and that half of the counties along Summit’s proposed route have submitted objections to the use of eminent domain for the private project,” a press release from the organization said.

Jessica Mazour, conservation program coordinator for the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, said in the press release, “Since these pipelines have been announced, I have yet to speak with a single landowner who is supportive of the project.

“Despite what Summit wants the public and our state legislators to believe, the opposition is widespread and diverse. We are Republicans, Democrats, farmers, environmentalists, young, old and everything in between. When unlikely allies can come together like this, we know this isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue – it’s a right or a wrong issue.  It’s pretty clear this is just plain wrong,” Mazour said.

Boards of supervisors from half of the 30 Iowa counties affected by the pipeline have passed motions or resolutions opposing the pipeline. Those counties are Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Lyon, O’Brien, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Woodbury and Wright.

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors this week discussed whether the board should take an official position on either or both of the two pipelines proposed to come into or go through Floyd County, but did not make a decision.

Reading through the almost 200 comments filed on the IUB docket for the Summit project as of this week, more than 95% are opposed to the project in general, or opposed to granting the right to use eminent domain in particular.

A number of organizations did file comments in favor of the project, including the Teamsters Union, Pipeliners Union, Ames Chamber of Commerce, and Mason City Chamber of Commerce, and a few individuals also filed statements in support of the Summit Carbon Solutions project.

The Midwest Carbon Express, being proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, would capture carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol plants and other CO2-producing industries in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska, compress it into a liquid and transport it through buried pipelines to North Dakota, where it would be stored deep underground.

The pipelines are projected to go through 30 Iowa counties in the north, northwestern and western parts of the state, including Floyd, Chickasaw, Cerro Gordo and Franklin counties locally.

A public meeting was held in Floyd on Sept. 20 for the Iowa Utilities Board to explain the permitting process and tell landowners what their rights are, to allow Summit representatives time to explain their project, and then to answer questions from the people attending.

The public meetings were required to be held in every county the pipeline proposed passing through before the company could contact landowners about easements.

People can submit comments about or objections to the pipeline proposal electronically by using the IUB’s open docket form, by email to mcustomer@iub.iowa.gov, or by mail to the Iowa Utilities Board, Attn: Docket No. HLP-2021-0001, 1375 E. Court Ave. Des Moines, IA 50319.

Summit Carbon Solutions, which is a part of Iowan Bruce Rastetter’s Summit Agricultural Group, estimates the project will cost about $4.5 billion, would be ready to begin pumping CO2 by 2024, and would sequester 12 million metric tons of CO2 per year.

Thirty ethanol companies including 10 in Iowa have signed on to be part of the project.

The pipeline and participating companies would make money through a federal tax credit that will eventually pay up to $50 for every ton of carbon a company captures and stores underground. At an estimated 12 million tons per year, that would be $600 million per year in potential income from that source alone.

Ethanol companies could also use their participation in carbon capture and storage to lower their carbon index, making them eligible to sell ethanol in states and countries with stringent CO2 regulations, or to sell their products at a premium price.

Another carbon capture pipeline has also been proposed to go through Iowa, including through Floyd County.

Heartland Greenway System is a proposal by Navigator Energy Services of Dallas, Texas. It would include carbon-dioxide-emitting industries in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Illinois, and pipe the liquid carbon dioxide to underground geological storage in central Illinois.

The public meeting for Navigator was held Jan. 24 in Charles City.

Valero Energy Corp. has signed on as an anchor company for the Navigator project, with eight ethanol plants in the five states.