Des Moines, Iowa — A bill to set new standards for future pipelines and electric transmission lines as well as wind farms and solar arrays is among the many bills that face a deadline. Bills have to clear a committee in the Iowa House or Senate by the end of this week or they’re set aside for the year.
Republican Senator Dennis Guth of Klemme says one goal of his bill is to ensure companies that install pipelines and electric generating facilities on farmland are responsible when problems — like sinkholes — crop up long into the future.
Guth’s bill would require that all pipelines and any underground transmission lines be buried at least eight feet deep to ensure proper drainage through tile lines.
Governor Reynolds has said she’s open to changing state regulations for pipeline permits in the future, but she says it would be unfair to change the rules for carbon pipeline developers Summit and Wolf. Guth’s bill is NOT retroactive.
Earlier this month, the GOP leader in the Senate said there’s no consensus among the 34 Republican senators on a pipeline-related bill.
