Summit Carbon Solutions is asking the Iowa Utilities Commission to approve changes in the permit the commission granted for construction of a pipeline to capture carbon from ethanol plants.
State regulators granted the permit in August of 2024, but stipulated Summit had to get permits to extend the pipeline into South Dakota, then to underground storage in North Dakota. Summit has obtained a permit in North Dakota, but South Dakota lawmakers have passed a law that bars the use of eminent domain in that state to seize land along the proposed pipeline route from unwilling property owners.
Summit is exploring adjustments to its route and is asking the Iowa Utilities Commission for permit changes that would let construction start, when it has secured access to storage. Critics of the project say after fierce opposition from landowners, it appears Summit now plans to connect to a Nebraska pipeline that would carry liquified carbon dioxide to Wyoming.
An attorney for the Sierra Club’s Iowa chapter says Summit is mounting a last-ditch effort because South Dakota said no to the project. Summit’s filing with the Iowa Utilities Commission includes a new contract option for landowners along the route that says they could have a share of pipeline profits.
Summit is also promising to provide $ 8 Million in grants to emergency response agencies along the pipeline route. The new CEO who started at Summit late this summer and promised to listen carefully, build trust and improve contract terms for landowners.
