Iowans who oppose a pipeline that would collect carbon from Midwest ethanol plants are cheering a development in South Dakota. South Dakota voters rejected a proposal that would have made it harder for South Dakota Counties to regulate the location of carbon pipelines. Ed Fischbach, a South Dakota farmer who spoke at a recent rally in Des Moines, said Tuesday’s results in South Dakota were gratifying.
“We won 65 of the 66 counties. We won every county that an ethanol plant exists in even though we were outspent about 50-to-1. I think there’s probably going to be about $3 million so far to our little piddly $220,000 effort,” Fischbach said during an online news conference. “Hopefully at some point in time maybe this company will realize they’re not going to prevail here and move on.”
Summit Carbon Solutions has proposed a pipeline across Iowa and four other states to pump carbon emissions from ethanol plants in the region into underground storage in North Dakota. The Iowa Utility Commission has awarded a permit to Summit so it can seize property from unwilling land owners and build the pipeline, but construction cannot start until Summit gets regulators’ approval in the Dakotas.
Brian Jorde, an attorney who represents landowners in South Dakota and Iowa who have refused to sign contracts to allow the pipeline on their property, said the South Dakota vote sends a message. “It’s time for Summit and their sympathizers and their friends and the politicians that they fund to realize you’ve got to respect local control in South Dakota, respect the ordinances and eminent domain cannot be used,” Jorde said. “And if they don’t get that through their head, this pipeline will not be built in South Dakota, ever.”
Summit Carbon Solutions will apply for a permit in South Dakota on November 19th. In a written statement, the company said its focus continues to be on working with landowners and ensuring the long-term viability of ethanol and agriculture in the state. Summit also cites other pipeline projects that it says have successfully navigated South Dakota’s existing regulatory landscape in the past.
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