Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — A bill that would ban the use of eminent domain for pipelines carrying carbon dioxide has cleared an Iowa House subcommittee.
The bill is similar to a South Dakota law and would not allow Summit Carbon Solutions to use the government’s eminent domain authority to seize land along the pipeline route.
Kathy Carter owns land in Floyd County along the proposed pipeline route and doesn’t want it on her property.
Mike Henning owns Greene County farmland along the Raccoon River.
The Iowa Corn Growers Association is on the record opposing the bill and says by capturing carbon from Iowa ethanol plants, that ethanol can be sold in markets that require zero-carbon fuels.
Brittany Lumley, a lobbyist for Summit, says the carbon the company captures from Iowa ethanol plants can also be used to recover underground oil.
Jake Ketzner, a lobbyist for Summit, says the bill would kill the company’s project.
That’s a description of the bill Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says would be a way to end the years-long debate over the pipeline.
Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says that the Senate bill will not protect all landowners.
Holt says that’s why a complete ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines is advancing in the House.
KIWA Staff Photo
