The Iowa-based company pushing for a multi-state hazardous liquid pipeline works for a permit in one state while it defends itself in a lawsuit in another.
Pipeline Permit – The Ames, Iowa-based company potentially has billions of dollars at stake as it tries again to get the necessary permit approved in South Dakota that it needs for its carbon sequestration pipeline project.
Summit Carbon Solutions plans for about 700 miles of its 2,500-mile pipeline to tunnel through South Dakota. The pipeline would transport carbon emissions from biofuels plants through Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota into an underground storage facility in North Dakota.
The company argues that the project will benefit the environment by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide given off by the renewable fuels plants and make those fuel production efforts more sustainable. The project could also be eligible for lucrative federal tax credits.
Summit has dealt with two setbacks in South Dakota. Earlier this month, voters rejected a law that would have given more protections to landowners in the path of the proposed pipeline but would not have prevented the process of eminent domain to force unwilling landowners to allow their property for the pipeline.
Summit has also submitted a revised plan for another attempt at a permit from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, which it needs for the project to proceed. Conflicts with counties were among the reasons the commission denied the permit to the company last year.
But Summit contends that it has engaged with landowners and re-routed its pipeline proposal to better accommodate property owners.
This story from South Dakota Public Broadcasting includes comments from Summit Carbon Solutions CEO Lee Blank on what he said that the company has done to make its project more acceptable to landowners.
Summit already found success in North Dakota. Last week the Public Service Commission unanimously approved a permit to run the pipeline through the state.
Pipeline Lawsuit – A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit judge in Omaha heard another aspect of the pipeline project that is uncertain. On Wednesday, that judge heard oral arguments on the case for two Iowa counties (Shelby and Story) that believe that they should be legally allowed to enforce their own ordinances setting guidelines on how close hazardous liquid pipelines can be to homes.
Last year, a federal judge ruled against the counties and in favor of Summit Carbon Solutions. Summit had sued the counties and said that federal standards superseded county ordinances.
Congress established the Pipeline Safety Act in 2011 and updated pipeline regulations in 2020. The 2020 version stated a mission of “protecting people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials.”
RELATED: Read the federal rules regarding pipelines from the U.S. Department of Transportation here.
Several other lawsuits remain active in Iowa. One involves Summit’s suit against landowners and another one is like the situation with the county ordinances in Shelby and Story. Summit is suing Bremer County for its local restrictions.
This Iowa Capital Dispatch story has a detailed breakdown of the federal case in Omaha and includes information about the other lawsuits involving Summit in Iowa.
