Last week both Governor Kim Reynolds and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Summit Carbon Solutions, LLC (Summit) allowing their carbon capture pipeline to be built through the State of Iowa.
The Governor vetoed HS 639 passed by the Iowa legislature to slow, if not stop, Summit from building the pipeline and the court ruled against two counties that had adopted ordinances attempting to prevent Summit from going through their small, rural communities.
For two weeks Iowa landowners held out hope that their governor, Kim Reynolds, would not veto House File 639, passed by Iowa’s 91st General Assembly, but that’s exactly what she did last Wednesday, June 11th.
At issue is the construction of a $9 billion carbon capture pipeline being built by Summit touted as the largest of its kind anywhere in the world spanning 2,550 miles. The pipeline will transport liquified carbon dioxide (CO2) from ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota where it will be injected deep into the ground.
Summit technically is not a “common carrier,” but the Iowa Utilities Board in June of 2024, gave them the authority to condemn private property and that is what the state assembly was addressing with HS 639.
The legislation didn’t ban the use of condemnation, but attempted to limit Summit’s ability as a private corporation to condemn private property for a non-public purpose since Summit isn’t considered a common carrier like companies that transport natural gas or petroleum and sell it for a profit.
The bill defined a “commodity” as a product used by an individual consumer. Summit doesn’t intend to sell the CO2 to anyone, but bury it deep in the ground. It also defined a “common carrier” as a commercial enterprise that benefits the public.
According to the bill, Summit, as a transporter of hazardous liquid, had to establish by “clear and convincing evidence” it would transport a commodity for the benefit of one or more shippers who retain ownership or sell to another party. Summit will do neither.
HS 639 also required Summit to buy insurance for affected landowners or reimburse them for increased insurance premiums due to the dangerous pipeline crossing their land, and it limited Summit’s Iowa state operating permit to just 25 years.
Summit has been attempting to construct a carbon capture pipeline for years that will traverse through Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Nebraska. Now, with the Governor vetoing HS 639, two states – Iowa and North Dakota – allow eminent domain for Summit’s carbon pipeline.
It appears the Governor doesn’t support landowners or private property. But she does support Biden’s “green new deal” that has provided massive federal tax credits and subsidies for unnecessary carbon capture pipelines as well as wind and solar energy projects. All of which destroy the private property of thousands of landowners, not to mention how they destroy the land.
Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, sent a request to all the members to sign a petition to reconvene the legislature in a special session to override the Governor’s veto, but as of this date, the Governor has remained silent.
Court Rules Against Shelby and Story Counties
Summit’s interstate pipeline passes almost directly through the middle of Iowa. Two counties that the pipeline will cross are Shelby and Story. Both counties enacted ordinances to make it as difficult as possible for Summit to go through their jurisdictions.
Those ordinances imposed various requirements on pipelines, including setbacks, emergency response plans, and local permit requirements. In Iowa, the project would be 680 miles of pipeline through 30 counties.
In 2022, Summit challenged these ordinances by filing suit, arguing they were preempted by the federal Pipeline Safety Act (PSA) and Iowa state law. Summit alleged the locally elected county boards of supervisors were attempting to impose project siting requirements that are the exclusive responsibility of federal regulators.
Summit was in the process of surveying routes for the project and securing the necessary permits while negotiating with landowners for access to their property.
The company had been working with the Iowa Utilities Board since 2021 as part of the planning and permitting process and had obtained voluntary easements from nearly 60% of the landowners along the proposed route, but many landowners refused to let them on their property.
Summit claimed the federal government regulates the safety of pipelines and the Iowa Utilities Board has the statutory authority to issue route permits.
The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Summit, permanently enjoining the enforcement of the ordinances.
The Court held that the PSA fell under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and neither county ordinances nor state statutes can preempt federal safety standards.
Additionally, the court held that the ordinances were inconsistent with Iowa state law because they imposed additional requirements that could prohibit pipeline construction even if they were granted a permit by the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC).
The citizens of Iowa have fought Summit’s carbon pipeline for years only to have their Governor and the federal courts rule against them. Their battle to protect private property rights is admirable and honorable. Unfortunately, Governor Reynolds and the federal government reign supreme in this case.
