Summit Carbon Solutions has mentioned eminent domain in its application to the Iowa Utilities Board for a CO2 pipeline.
“It is uncertain at this time whether and to what extent the right of eminent domain will be required,” Summit wrote in its application submitted last week.
The company is looking to build 2,000 miles of pipeline across five states: Iowa, Minnesotra, Nebraska, North and South Dakota.
Around 700 miles would be in Iowa and its goal is to transport CO2 from 31 ethanol plants in the five states and sequester it in underground geological formations where it can solidify and ultimately be rpevented from entering the atmosphere.
The state’s Utilities Board is now going to review the application’s merits for public use in order to decide if eminent domain is applicable.
Should permission be granted, then the pipeline is likely to go through owner’s land despite their objections while being compensated for the disruption.
Relevant: Iowa Governor Reynolds Calls For Investing In Carbon Capture Research
The current proposal from the company states that it will cover damages while construction is under way for a three year period at a diminishing rate — 100% during in the first year, 80% in the second and 60% in the third.
On townhall meetings and hearings farmers have reportedly been saying that this will not be enough to cover the costs of long-term construction work on their properties, crop damage and loss, as well as adjusting drain paths.
Prominent environmental group Sierra Club has also spoken out against the pipeline project, with its conservation program coordinator for Iowa Jessica Mazour saying: “Since these pipelines have been announced, I have yet to speak with a single landowner who is supportive of the project.”
15 formal objections have been filed from country boards of supervisors in the last months, as well dozens of letters from citizens who are concerned about the potential disruption and risks the pipeline could bring to their properties and communities.
Read more: Summit Carbon Solutions Digs First CO2 Storage Wells
