The Iowa Utilities Board hearing on Summit Carbon Solutions proposed pipeline has resumed this week. A schedule on the board’s website indicates that the company will start offering its rebuttal to dozens of landowners who’ve testified in opposition to the project today. Neil Dahlquist, who owns land in Palo Alto County, testified Wednesday morning. Dahlquist says he’s been unable to get confirmation that his insurance company would provide liability coverage if the pipeline ruptured.
Dahlquist, who is a neurologist in Minnesota, suggests if the pipeline is built, it will shut down when federal tax credits for carbon capture expire.
A bill President Biden signed last year establishes a tax credit worth 60 dollars for every metric ton of sequestered carbon. The U-S Treasury Department estimates two-point-three BILLION dollars in carbon tax credits will be claimed between now and 2029. Ethanol plants have signed up to connect to Summit’s proposed pipeline, expecting to market carbon neutral ethanol as a result. Groups like the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and the Iowa Corn Growers say capturing carbon from ethanol plants is key to the industry’s long-term survival. Last month, Navigator cancelled its carbon pipeline project. The company cited unpredictable regulatory processes in states along the proposed pipeline route.
