Des Moines, Iowa — A House committee has approved a bill that outlines a new legal avenue for landowners who don’t want a carbon pipeline to run through their property.
Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton says it’s the fifth time the House has introduced a bill to address the ability of developers to gain eminent domain authority to seize ground from unwilling property owners.
The bill would give the Polk County District Court authority to review claims from landowners OR developers about whether eminent domain authority may be used for any project — including the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline. Representative Chuck Isenhart of Dubuque says he’s not sure the Iowa Utilities Board will make a clear determination on whether Summit’s pipeline is a public necessity and, therefore, may use eminent domain.
The bill cleared the House Ways and Means Committee on a 24-to-zero vote. It’s now eligible for House debate. Earlier this year the House passed a different bill about carbon pipelines, but it never came up in the senate before last week’s deadline for action on the bill.
