Council Bluffs, Iowa — Different counties in Iowa through which carbon pipelines are set to pass are handling the situation differently.
Officials have hired a private firm to inspect areas where the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline would pass through eastern parts of Pottawattamie County. The contract calls for the county-hired inspectors to make sure land is restored to its prior condition and drainage tile systems are repaired and maintained. Supervisor Susan Miller of Carson voted to approve the contract but suggests it may not go far enough.
Summit has applied for a state permit to build and operate the pipeline, but the Iowa Utilities Board has not indicated when it may decide on the application. The board hosted a public hearing about the project this summer. The hearing started in August and ended in November.
In our area, Summit’s pipeline would enter from the south in south-central Sioux County, and would connect up with a line that comes in from South Dakota, just clipping the far southwest corner of Lyon County. That line would proceed southeast, and eventually due east through central O’Brien County, where it would connect with a line coming up from Cherokee before exiting the county into Clay County.
