The fate of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline system that would connect to more than a dozen ethanol plants in Iowa now rests with the Iowa Utilities Board. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Final arguments over Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline permit have concluded, and the Iowa Utilities Board is set to decide whether to approve the controversial project.
Summit says its expansive carbon dioxide pipeline system in Iowa would benefit the public economically and by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Because of that, eminent domain should be used to acquire land easements to build it, the company argues.
But opponents of the project say the company’s sole motivation is to make money and that the project’s benefits to the environment are embellished.
Those are some of the closing arguments that have been made in recent weeks to cap Summit’s request for a hazardous pipeline permit. The Iowa Utilities Board is now charged with deciding whether the company is eligible for a permit and for eminent domain. Summit has obtained easements for about three-quarters of its more than 680-mile route in Iowa.
There is no statutory requirement that dictates when the board must make its decision, and the board has not indicated when it might rule on Summit’s permit.
Summit argues that corn market is crucial to Iowa
“Corn, and the market for it, is a crucial thread in the tapestry of Iowa’s past, is inseparable from Iowa’s present, and is a key to Iowa’s success in the future,” Summit wrote in its final arguments for its pipeline permit in Iowa.
The company wants to build a five-state, $5.5 billion pipeline system to transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to North Dakota for underground storage.
It would make the company and ethanol producers eligible for generous federal tax credits and enable those producers to sell their ethanol in low-carbon fuel markets.
More than half of the state’s corn is used to make ethanol, and advocates of the fuel argue that the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the industry is vital for its future.
“This critical sector of Iowa’s economy is under threat from the push to rapidly decarbonize the United States economy,” Summit wrote. “This threat, however, is also an opportunity.”
Ethanol blended with gasoline is the dominant fuel that is used to power vehicles in the United States, and reducing its carbon footprint is key to ensuring its longevity, Summit argues.
Opponents say electric vehicles will make pipeline obsolete
There is potential for ethanol producers to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions locally, but state geologists have said it will take years to study its feasibility. Meanwhile, the automobile industry is shifting to electric vehicles, partially at the behest of the Biden administration, which aims to make them 50% of new vehicles purchased by 2030.
Because of that shift, opponents of Summit’s proposal argue the potential environmental benefits of the pipeline network might be short lived.
“Climate change is clearly the existential issue of our time,” wrote Wally Taylor, of the Sierra Club of Iowa, which opposes the project. “Addressing that challenge primarily means phasing out the use of fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy. Iowa is already a leader in constructing wind energy projects and is fast becoming a leader in solar energy. So we don’t need to approve a project that delays that transition.”
Taylor’s comments were part of the final arguments that have been filed with the Iowa Utilities Board in recent weeks. They are the culmination of a more than two-year process to decide whether Summit gets a permit.
The company was the first to propose such a system in Iowa. Navigator CO2 sought to build a similar pipeline network but abandoned its plans in October amid regulatory setbacks in Illinois and South Dakota.
Summit has also had setbacks in North and South Dakota, where utility regulators rejected its first proposals. The company has asked North Dakota to reconsider its request, and it plans to reapply in South Dakota after adjusting its route.
The pipeline proposals have created odd bedfellows, with environmental groups joining with farmers and Republican lawmakers to resist them. Opponents worry about their safety, the damage to farmland during their construction and whether they are appropriate candidates for eminent domain.
Pipeline opponents attend a rally Jan. 10, 2024 at the Iowa Capitol. (Photo by Kathie Obradovich/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
The easements would allow Summit to construct and operate its pipeline on property it doesn’t own. Legislation that was approved by the Iowa House of Representatives last year requires companies like Summit to acquire easements for 90% of their routes before being eligible for eminent domain. That bill can still be considered by the Senate.
Farm Bureau makes recommendations but doesn’t take sides
The influential Iowa Farm Bureau Federation supported the bill, but it did not, in its final filings with the Iowa Utilities Board, take a side on whether the board should approve Summit’s permit.
Instead, the organization made several suggestions to mitigate the problems that might ensue from construction. They include fully compensating landowners for future crop yield losses, damage to drain tiles, and potential repayments to the federal government for land that is enrolled in conservation programs.
The group has further asked that Summit obtain permits in North and South Dakota before it is authorized to build or obtain easements through eminent domain in Iowa, and that eminent domain should be tightly restricted if it is granted.
“The easements Summit acquires from landowners for the installation of the carbon dioxide pipeline should be expressly limited to only what is necessary for the project,” IFB wrote.
Summit argues that it meets the state’s “public convenience and necessity” requirement for its project, which it said is “not a high bar.”
“‘Public necessity’ goes to the need for the project, but it clearly is not an absolute need — rather, the question is whether there is a demonstrable role for the project that satisfies any kind of need,” the company wrote.
That need is proven by the dozen ethanol producers that have signed agreements with Summit to connect to its pipeline system, the company argues.
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