KDSN RADIO News
South Dakota regulators reject Summit pipeline application
South Dakota regulators say there’s too much uncertainty surrounding the Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed pipeline route in South Dakota and they’ve denied the company’s application to build and operate the pipeline in their state. A spokesperson for the company says Summit will reduce the scope of its pipeline route in South Dakota and reapply.
“The current route, in my view, is not viable,” said Kristie Fiegen, a member of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. “Summit Carbon pipeline needs to come back, and they need to go back to the drawing board and develop a route and submit a route that will comply with the laws.”
South Dakota recently passed a law that does not allow Summit to use eminent domain authority to seize land from South Dakotans who don’t want the pipeline on their property. This is the second time South Dakota regulators have rejected a pipeline application from Summit.
“At this point, we really don’t know the route,” Fiegen said. “We don’t know the timeframes. We don’t know their plan.”
A spokesperson for Summit said the decision is disappointing, but the company is committed to the project and will retool and refile its application in South Dakota. The Iowa Utilities Commission granted Summit a permit last year, but construction cannot begin until the company obtains permits from the other states along the pipeline route.
Also Tuesday, a Republican senator delivered a five-minute speech on the floor of the Iowa Senate and called for a vote on a bill to limit the use of eminent domain for the project.
(Reporting by Rachel Cramer, Iowa Public Radio, additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)
