Bluestem's ethanol carbon pipeline digests of late have focused on the federal tax break profiteers at Summit Carbon Solutions, though the Navigator CO2 pipeline's turned up in recent posts like Ethanol carbon pipeline update: Navigator asks SD PUC to shoot down county pipeline rules and SD PUC Navigator CO2 Ventures update: Pipeline permit, overruling counties decision by Sept. 6.
Here we are on September 6, and Keloland's Bob Mercer has tweeted that Navigator CO2's permit has been denied:
About 30 landowners along Navigator's proposed route and along the proposed route of the SCS pipeline attended the Navigator decision Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/V7f3FaWT8S
— KELO Bob Mercer (@pierremercer) September 6, 2023
In continuous coverage, Mercer had reported in Navigator pipeline decisions from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission:
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission is weighing in on the future of carbon dioxide pipelines in the state.
At a meeting on Wednesday, the members unanimously decided to deny the Navigator CO2 project’s request that the state commission preempt pipeline ordinances passed in Minnehaha and Moody counties. Commissioner Chris Nelson described it as “an extreme remedy.” . . .
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission is next considering chair Kristie Fiegen’s motion to deny Navigator’s permit.
Fiegen said she isn’t confident Navigator will comply with all state and local requirements. She cited Navigator’s failure to originally notify all landowners along the proposed route and the company’s refusal to share the results of the plume study until late in the hearing.Fiegen also said Navigator could unduly affect the region’s development.
Commissioner Gary Hanson said Navigator hadn’t met the burden of proof laid out in South Dakota law, hadn’t shown the willingness to comply with all applicable laws and rules and hadn’t always been cooperative with the PUC staff’s requests for information.
Commissioner Chris Nelson said he would support the motion to deny. Nelson said Navigator hadn’t addressed the welfare of the inhabitants along the proposed route. He cited the high percentages of landowners who refused Navigator’s offers to allow the line.
Navigator’s permit was unanimously denied as the commission voted 3-0 to deny Navigator’s permit. . . .
This post will be updated with news reports about the decision as they are published.
UPDATE: The South Dakota Searchlight posted:
BREAKING NEWS: The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has unanimously rejected a permit for Navigator CO2's proposed Heartland Greenway #CarbonCapture pipeline. #CO2pipeline https://t.co/puJTI3LL9e
— South Dakota Searchlight (@SDSearchlight) September 6, 2023
The article, republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0:
South Dakota regulators deny permit for Navigator CO2 carbon pipeline
By Joshua Haiar, South Dakota SearchlightIn a unanimous decision, the three-member South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday rejected Navigator CO2’s application for a permit to construct the Heartland Greenway carbon capture pipeline in South Dakota.
The commission also unanimously refused the company’s request to preempt county pipeline setback ordinances. The ordinances, passed by multiple counties, mandate minimum distances between pipelines and existing dwellings, schools and other places.
Navigator CO2 applied for its state permit in September 2022, outlining plans for a $3 billion, 1,300-mile pipeline to transport carbon dioxide in liquid form from 21 ethanol and fertilizer plants across five states to an underground sequestration site in Illinois. In eastern South Dakota, the project would cover 111.9 miles in Brookings, Moody, Minnehaha, Lincoln and Turner counties.
The Public Utilities Commission conducted a hearing on the permit application from July 25 to Aug. 8.
The South Dakota denial of a permit for Navigator CO2 follows North Dakota’s recent denial of a permit for another pipeline project, proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, which would also cross into South Dakota. Summit has already altered its North Dakota application and reapplied. Summit’s South Dakota permit hearing is scheduled to begin Monday. [end update]
UPDATE #2: At the Argus Leader, Dominik Dausch reports in South Dakota regulators deny Navigator's CO2 pipeline application:
Navigator Heartland Greenway, LLC.'s, application to build their ambitious and controversial carbon capture pipeline system was officially denied.
Navigator received the thumbs-down Wednesday from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to build their Heartland Greenway System pipeline following a unanimous 3-0 motion.
At the same time, the commission also unanimously denied Navigator's motion to preempt local ordinances through federal law as a means of circumventing what the company considers overly restrictive setback distances.
PUC Chairperson Kristie Fiegen, in her motion to deny the application, said Navigator did not meet the burden of proof on any of the four subdivisions of South Dakota Codified Law 49-41B-22.
This statute lays out four standards in which a proposed project must meet. This includes complying with applicable laws and rules, not posing a threat of serious injury to the environment nor social and economic conditions of affected landowners, not substantially impairing the health, safety or welfare of the inhabitants, and not unduly interfere with future development by municipalities.
Commissioners Fiegen and Gary Hanson both also pointed to the challenges PUC staff faced in receiving responses to questions regarding the project. . . .
Read the rest at the Argus Leader.
At the Dakota Scout, Austin Goss reports in Navigator's application for pipeline permit in South Dakota rejected:
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has denied Navigator Heartland Greenway a permit to build a pipeline through five counties in eastern South Dakota.
In a monumental win for South Dakota landowners battling against eminent domain powers for carbon sequestration pipelines, the three-member commission voted unanimously Wednesday to reject the application of Texas-based Navigator, citing potential safety hazards and uncertain economic impacts.
“Not all pipelines are created equal,” said Commissioner Gary Hanson, who along with his colleagues sat through 11 days of testimony on the planned pipeline last month. “There are some important differences between pipelines that should not be ignored. CO2 is a unique, hazardous gas.” . . .
Navigator could continue to pursue the project, potentially re-submitting an application or appealing the body’s ruling.
“While we are disappointed with the recent decision to deny our permit application in South Dakota, our company remains committed to responsible infrastructure development,” the company said in a statement to The Dakota Scout. ”We will evaluate the written decision of the Public Utilities Commission once issued and determine our course of action in South Dakota thereafter. Our commitment to environmental stewardship and safety remains unwavering, and we will continue to pursue our permitting processes in the other regions we operate in.”
The PUC will conduct hearings on the pipeline permit application for Summit Carbon Solutions beginning next week.
[end update #2]
On the surface, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission pairs with news ND Public Service Commission denial of Summit Carbon Solutions permit for ethanol carbon pipeline on August 4. The North Dakota decision allowed room for Summit Carbon Solutions to prepare a revised permit application.
Unlike the Summit Carbon Solutions' pipeline network, which would deliver carbon dioxide from ethanol plants across the upper Midwest for sequestration deep in rock formations in North Dakota, the Navigator pipeline would stream its ethanol CO2 toward bedrock in Illinois.
As Bluestem noted in June 2022's Navigator CO2, POET sign letter of intent for carbon capture, utilization, and storage services, one part of this pipeline would run not far from BDP World Headquarters in Summit.
Map: The Navigator CO2 pipeline route.
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