Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — A group of lawmakers pressing to prohibit Summit Carbon Solutions from seizing land along its proposed carbon pipeline route says they’ve got new ideas for the 2026 legislative session.
The group’s also calling for an apology from top Senate Republicans who publicly criticized 12 GOP colleagues who refused to vote on budget bills this past spring and forced a Senate vote on a bill with pipeline restrictions. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison hosted an event this weekend that four of those senators attended.
One Senate Republican called the group naive. Another called the bill a nuclear bomb. Senator Kevin Alons of Salix says it took a lot of courage. “It was a line in the sand that I just couldn’t let go of,” Alons said. “We took our stand and here we are and we’ve got a distance to go yet.”
Republican Representative Charley Thomson of Charles City has helped draft the bill the Senate passed — and Governor Reynolds vetoed in June. Thomson says seeing which Senators voted against that bill is important. “We know who’s on the other side. They’ve identified themselves. We’ve forced them out of the bushes. That’s who the problem people are,” Thomson said. “That is a huge tactical advantage.”
Senator Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center says 70 percent of Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate voted for the bill.
And Representative Holt says if Senate Republican leadership is looking for a quick compromise on the issue, they can vote on a bill the House passed last year to forbid Summit from seizing agland from unwilling property owners.
Shelby County’s Board of Supervisors voted last month to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the lawsuit Summit filed to block Shelby County’s pipeline ordinance. A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Summit and against the county’s ordinance that established no-go zones around homes, schools, and other structures.
KIWA Staff Photo
