Algona, Iowa — The counties through which Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed CO2 pipeline would run are handling the situation differently.
Summit is suing Kossuth County in federal court over a new ordinance there that restricts where carbon pipelines may be built.
Kossuth County Supervisors approved an ordinance last month that would require the carbon pipelines to be at least two and a half miles outside of city limits and at least one and a half miles from any home, hospital, nursing home, church, livestock confinement, or public park in Kossuth County. The Iowa Capital Dispatch was the first to report on Summit’s lawsuit. The company argues state and federal officials have sole authority to approve its pipeline route and set safety standards. Summit has sued three other counties with similar ordinances.
Kossuth County’s ordinance says a hazardous liquid pipeline would be a threat to public health. The ordinance directly mentions pipeline plans from two companies — Summit and Navigator — but Navigator’s project has been cancelled due to what the company called “regulatory hurdles.”
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.
