According to a judge ruling, Summit Carbon Solutions will now be able to survey private land in South Dakota for the proposed carbon pipeline project.
The ruling was passed by Judge Richard Sommers in the 8th circuit on April 21, 2023 and was a judgment on a lawsuit filed by landowners in four counties in the state back in 2022.
Thus, Summit Carbon will no longer require the permission of landowners to survey their properties, and instead, the company will be free to walk in anytime.
Summit’s proposed pipeline project is one of the largest of its kind, set to cross 5 US states (Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota) and transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to permanent storage sites.
Valued at a staggering $4.5 billion, although the project was expected to begin construction in 2023, the pipeline permit application submitted for it by Summit won’t be reviewed until September by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
This latest ruling ties directly into the battle surrounding eminent domain that has been ongoing since last year, especially as Summit recently filed several lawsuits in South Dakota alone for the use of eminent domain.
Read more: Summit Carbon Solutions Has Paid $200M To Landowners
