Northwest Iowa — All of this area’s legislators are part of a lawsuit being filed against the Iowa Utilities Commission in its approval of the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline. Senators Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center and Lynn Evans of Aurelia along with representatives Skyler Wheeler of Hull, Tom Jeneary of Le Mars, and Zach Dieken of Granville are part of the group of nearly 40 lawmakers calling themselves the Republican Legislative Intervenors for Justice.
They are suing to stop the construction of the Summit pipeline, which is set to span nearly seven hundred miles across 29 counties, including several in northwest Iowa.
The lawsuits argue that the commission’s approval, which included granting eminent domain rights, prioritizes corporate interests over landowners’ rights.
The pipeline has been controversial since its approval by the Iowa Utilities Commission in June of this year. The pipeline has the go-ahead from the commission, but there is a requirement that the states of North and South Dakota need to approve it before Summit can proceed here, and there is also opposition in the Dakotas.
