The Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club and some landowners have called for the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) to reject Summit Carbon Solutions’ petition to amend its pipeline permit.
Summit’s petition, filed Monday, requests changes to the initially proposed route and pipe size for its carbon sequestration pipeline project, which had been approved by the IUC in 2024. That “main line” would include ethanol plants including Homeland Energy Solutions near Lawler and Golden Grain Energy near Mason. However, Summit can not begin construction in Iowa until it secures route permission from North and South Dakota, and storage permission in North Dakota.
Since the IUC’s approval, South Dakota has enacted a law preventing use of eminent domain in CO2 pipeline projects, and denied two Summit permit requests. In North Dakota, Summit’s permits were approved, but face legal challenges.
According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Summit has requested to amend the permit in Iowa to reflect that “additional options for storage and pathways to storage are developing and may provide a better solution.” The request would also remove language referencing The Dakotas, changing the petition to state construction cannot begin until it has “secured access to one or more sequestration sites and permits or agreements to allow it to reach such storage.”
Landowners and advocates who oppose the pipeline project or use of eminent domain to complete the route want the IUC to reject the proposed language change.
Floyd County landowner Kathy Carter said, “We are into the fifth year of this, and with every effort to get some legislation passed, Summit and IRFA and ICGA would howl about “can’t change the rules in the middle”…. which it appears is exactly what they’re attempting to do with these amendments. They’re attempting to change routings, pipe sizes, locations, and more.”
Summit also announced a community and landownership partnership program Monday, including updated commitments related to safety, transparency and increased benefits for landowners and counties where the pipeline route is planned.
Kim Junker of Butler County, said Tuesday the newly announced incentives are an attempt to “sweeten and distract from our biggest concerns about the project.”
