Statewide Iowa (RI) — Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh is proposing a bill to let Summit Carbon redraw its proposed pipeline route to avoid land owned by people who will not sign voluntary easements.
Klimesh is introducing another bill that would tax the liquid carbon flowing through the pipeline, too.
Klimesh predicts corn prices could go up by as much as a dollar per bushel if the pipeline is built, and the carbon is used to extract oil in Wyoming.
Key House Republicans have criticized the idea, saying it would still let Summit Carbon use eminent domain authority to seize some land along the pipeline route. House Republicans have introduced legislation that would block Summit from using eminent domain.
The tax Klimesh proposes would be a fee for each metric ton of carbon that flows through a pipeline in Iowa.
Klimesh says that’s the goal of his tax proposal, too. He says carbon is a valuable commodity in the oil industry.
EOR stands for “enhanced oil recovery.” Oil companies inject carbon underground to help dissolve the oil and make it easier to extract.
KIWA Staff Photo
