Just a follow-up from the North Dakota Monitor. Bluestem had republished its article ND energy councils recommend carbon capture education consultant to Industrial Commission last Thursday.
Looks like I'm not the only one with misgivings about this "education" campaign.
From the North Dakota Monitor:
Industrial Commission advances carbon education despite lawmaker objections
By Jeff BeachLegislators sign letter opposing use of taxes for marketing campaign
The North Dakota Industrial Commission on Tuesday pushed ahead with a carbon management education program over the objections of a group of legislators.
The three-person commission voted unanimously to approve a $300,000 contract for AE2S Communications of Bismarck to develop an education and marketing program on carbon capture sequestration and utilization.
Before the vote, state Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, questioned the timing of the grant, given the controversy over the Summit Carbon Solutions carbon capture and sequestration project.
He cited a pending decision by the North Dakota Supreme Court regarding Summit’s attempt to access private property to survey a potential pipeline route. He also cited Summit’s pending application for a pipeline route before the Public Service Commission.
Gov. Doug Burgum said the education project “is not intended to try to influence court cases.” He added that the court case and permit may be resolved by the time the educational campaign is ready to launch in 2025.
The project announced by the Industrial Commission in December is to provide educational materials on the safety and usefulness of carbon dioxide that can be captured from ethanol plants, power plants and other industries.
One major potential use for carbon dioxide is in enhanced oil recovery, which could extend the life of North Dakota’s oil wells.
The $300,000 for the campaign comes from taxes paid by the energy industry.
Burgum, one of three Industrial Commission members, has been a major proponent of carbon capture. But Summit’s five-state project to capture carbon from ethanol plants, including Tharaldson Ethanol at Casselton, has been met with some resistance, especially in Emmons County, where Magrum is from.
Landowners have expressed concerns about pipeline safety and damage to cropland and property values.
The Summit project, billed as the world’s largest carbon capture project, would store the carbon underground in Mercer and Oliver counties.
The project has fallen behind its original schedule and is awaiting a hearing with the PSC after it altered its route around Bismarck.
Summit also will need to apply for an underground storage permit with the Industrial Commision.
Magrum and 18 other legislators signed a letter telling the Industrial Commission that tax money should not be used for the project.
“The North Dakota legislature should re-evaluate the discretion it grants the North Dakota Industrial Commission to spend money promoting certain business interests over the interests of North Dakota citizens. Such promotional activities in the name of ‘education’ effectively amount to an endorsement of a particular company and a particular project over the rights and concerns of many citizens,” the letter states.
The proposal from AE2S included the use of the Fieldstone Group, part-owned by conservative talk radio host and columnist Scott Hennen. Hennen also helped organize Friends of Ag & Energy, which has a website about carbon capture and hosted a public meeting that included Wade Boeshans of Summit Carbon Solutions. Burgum also spoke at the forum.
Burgum noted that the $300,000 was included in a bill approved by the Legislature. Some of the legislators who signed the letter voted in favor of the legislation.
The Summit project was not named in the AE2S proposal or mentioned during the meeting that recommended the AE2S proposal to the Industrial Commission.
This North Dakota Monitor article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Photo: Members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission listen to a presentation by Ed Murphy, left, state geologist, during a meeting of the commission at the Capitol on Feb. 27, 2024. Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor
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