Floyd County Farmer Testifies at IUB Summit Pipeline Hearing 

Floyd County was front and center for about an hour Tuesday (08.22), day one of an evidentiary hearing to consider Summit Carbon Solutions’ permit application to build about 680 of underground carbon capture pipeline in Iowa.

The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) hearing began in earnest with afternoon testimony from three farmers whose land is affected by Summit’s project, with Jessica Marson of Floyd County up first.

Marson added, “There’s a lot of risk and a lot of ambiguity. We are concerned about our safety. We are concerned about our community.”

She also expressed concerns about the proximity of Summit’s pipeline to the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock School District and the ability for emergency personnel to respond in the event of a pipeline breach.

Floyd County landowner George Cummins had petitioned the IUB to delay the hearing before it even began. The Iowa Capitol Dispatch reports Cummins’ pending court challenge argues that the IUB doesn’t have jurisdiction over Summit’s project.

Cummins asserts that because the carbon dioxide will be transported in a “supercritical fluid” state, it is not a liquid and is not regulated by Iowa’s hazardous liquid pipeline permit process.

The IUB rejected the argument, but Cummins appealed to district court, where it is pending. IUB Board Chair Erik Helland said the appeal is likely to fail and Cummins’ motion to stay the proceedings was rejected.