Landowners along the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline route say the company’s recent leadership shakeup and rebranding campaign will not change their opposition to the project.
Summit recently announced a new CEO, Jim Griffin, alongside what it described as a “new senior leadership team focused on partnership and respect.”
But affected landowners argue the move is cosmetic, pointing out that key concerns remain unresolved.
“The fact that we still can’t get liability insurance, they would drain billions of gallons of water every year, and they refuse to be transparent says it all,” said Sherri Webb, a landowner in Shelby County, Iowa.
“Swapping in a new CEO doesn’t change what they are, and our ‘NO’ is still a firm ‘NO’ when it comes to our land.”
Griffin has begun sending letters to landowners along the Iowa pipeline route — one version to those who have signed voluntary easements, and another to the more than 1,000 who continue to refuse and now face the prospect of eminent domain seizures.
Relevant: Summit Carbon Solutions Appoints New CEO, Signals “Fresh Chapter” For Pipeline Project
The proposed CO2 pipeline project has been widely criticized by opponents who argue it poses environmental risks while offering questionable climate benefits.
For landowners, however, the central issue remains property rights. As Webb puts it, “This is lipstick on a pig, plain and simple.”
“Summit can shuffle executives all it wants, but that won’t fix the fundamental problem with its business,” added Emma Schmit, Bold Alliance’s Pipeline Fighters Director.
Read more: Summit Carbon Solutions And Infinium Partner On eFuels
