A day doesn't go by without a development in the upper Midwest ethanol carbon pipeline saga.
And it's not just the populist insurrection here in South Dakota.
Last week, the grassroots Montevideo-based organization CURE posted CO2 Pipeline Resistance to Congress: Cut the Waste, Repeal 45Q, documenting a trip to Washington SC to try to pull the carbon out of the federal tax credit profiteers:
Last week, I traveled to the Capitol with a small but determined group of Minnesotans: landowners, farmers, and community members who are experiencing the threats posed by the carbon capture industry. We didn’t just come for a photo op; we came with a message for Congress: it’s time to end the reckless and wasteful tax breaks to the carbon capture industry.
The 45Q tax credit – a multi-billion-dollar handout to fossil fuel companies —has driven a surge of proposed carbon pipelines across rural America.* On paper, these projects promise climate solutions. In reality, they’re another way for big corporations to rake in public dollars from projects that put rural peoples’ land, water, and safety at risk. . . .
Read the rest on CURE's blog.
From Washington DC to Des Moines, Iowa, where the Republican Legislative Intervenors for Justice held a press conference to defend property rights.
From Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Rep. Charley Thomson calls on Summit to withdraw pipeline application
by Cami KoonsRepublican lawmaker Rep. Charley Thomson, at a press conference Monday, called on Summit Carbon Solutions to withdraw its already-approved permit application to build a carbon sequestration pipeline through Iowa.
The Republican Legislative Intervenors for Justice, consisting of more than 40 Iowa lawmakers, gathered for a press conference about their continued fight against what the group alleges are “unconstitutional” attacks on Iowa property rights.
The group formed in June 2023 and has sued the Iowa Utilities Commission for its decision to grant a permit to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which would span more than 1,000 miles in Iowa to transport liquid carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to underground storage in North Dakota.
The IUC approved Summit’s permit in June, on the condition that the company secure permits in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
Officials in North Dakota and Minnesota approved the pipeline routes through their states, but Summit requested a pause in proceedings for its application in South Dakota, following the recent passage of a law that blocks the company from condemning agricultural land for the project.
“I’m calling today for Summit to withdraw their petition from the IUC,” Thomson, of Charles City, said at the press conference. “Now that we’ve seen what South Dakota has done with their view on eminent domain, there’s no basis under the current IUC order to proceed.”
A spokesperson for the commission said in a statement to Iowa Capital Dispatch, that the South Dakota law did “not affect the validity of the permit already granted” for the project.
Thomson said the IUC’s initial decision to grant the permit did not comply with Iowa law, nor the constitution.
“Iowans have a tradition of very clean government — this is not clean government,” Thomson said.
A spokesperson for Summit Carbon Solutions said the IUC reviewed the project “thoroughly” after “years of public input, regulatory review, and strong support from farmers, landowners, ethanol producers, and business leaders across the state.”
“We respect the role of elected officials in the policymaking process and remain focused on delivering a project that supports Iowa agriculture, ethanol, and national energy dominance,” the spokesperson said, asked about Thomson’s request.
Thomson also pointed to a proposed rule from Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, on CO2 pipelines, which he said “confirmed” that “it’s not the same risk to have a carbon dioxide pipeline running through your land as it is for natural gas.”
“It’s far riskier,” Thomson said.
Rep. Cindy Golding said she fears the South Dakota law, and Summit’s request for a stay on the proceedings in the state, will lead Iowans to think the project “is done.”
“This has not gone away,” Golding said. “It’s still hanging over your head.”
This session representatives put forward a number of bills pertaining to eminent domain and CO2 pipeline regulations. Rep. Steven Holt said the bills might be combined into one or two bills to fit the time constraints of the session.
Last week, Democratic Senator Tony Bisignano introduced an amendment to the resolution on Senate rules that would have allowed a majority to force a Senate floor vote on a bill. Bisignano noted the Senate’s history of not debating pipeline related bills in his arguments for the amendment, which was defeated 30-18.
Sen. Dennis Guth, said he voted against the amendment in favor of a commitment he made with Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, to advance some of the eminent domain bills through the Senate.
“I apologize to those that are disappointed, because I think if I had to do over again, I would have changed my vote,” Guth said at the press conference.
Sen. Lynn Evans from Aurelia said he’s not sure the effort from the Democrats was a “genuine” effort to fight for property rights, and noted that no one from the other side of the aisle was in the room.
“If they want to join us in this fight, this is an official invitation, that they can join us and stand shoulder to shoulder with us,” Evans said.
Sen. Cherielynn Westrich and the rest of the group applauded the pipeline fighters who show up at the Iowa Capitol every Tuesday to voice their opposition to the pipeline. “We see you, we hear you, and we’re fighting for you,” Westrich said.
Kathy Carter, a landowner and regular pipeline opponent at the Capitol said landowners are “exhausted.”
“You tell us to continue to pursue with the senators, which we have been continually doing,” Carter said. “I’m not sure what else we can do, but we’re not going to give up.”
Photo: Republican lawmakers applaud landowners whom they have worked with in opposition to a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline. From left, Rep. Eddie Andrews, Sen. Dennis Guth, Sen. Cherielynn Westrich, Rep. Charley Thomson. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch).
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