Floyd County Supervisors Urged to Revisit Pipeline Ordinances, Too

While Floyd County Supervisors look at updates to the County’s ordinances regarding the future development of wind turbine farms  in the county, they’re also being urged to revisit ordinances for underground carbon capture pipelines as well.

Navigator CO2 Ventures recently pulled the plug on its Heartland Greenway carbon pipeline, while Summit Carbon Solutions announced its Midwest Carbon Express, if a permit is granted, won’t be operational until 2026, not in 2024 as originally hoped. 

Both projects targeted Floyd County for construction of their carbon pipelines, but both came upon shaky ground after the two companies ran into construction permit application snags in North and South Dakota, with some county ordinances putting up roadblocks to the projects. 

In Iowa, Summit has taken Shelby County to court over the County’s proposed ordinances to restrict construction routes, with Summit arguing its’s beyond the County’s jurisdiction. Still, Landowner Kathy Carter urged the Floyd County Board of Supervisors during their Monday (10.30) meeting that the time is now to revisit the County’s carbon pipeline ordinance.

In addition to concerns over pipeline ordinances and eminent domain, Carter and fellow north Iowa  landowners Candice Brandau Larson and Kim Junker have filed suit against Summit for the water the company plans to use in the operation of its pipeline. 

The landowners want the Iowa DNR to rescind a permit to allow Summit to withdraw some 56 million gallons of water each year from the aquifer near the Homeland Energy Solutions ethanol plant between Lawler and New Hampton, the easternmost starting point for Summit’s proposed carbon pipeline. 

The lawsuit argues that the water use does not serve a “beneficial purpose” and Summit’s permit should be voided.