Yet more developments in ethanol carbon capture pipeline news from the South Dakota Searchlight. Looks as if the South Dakota legislature is more dedicated to regulatory capture than local control.
Proposed carbon pipeline adds more ethanol plants as lawmakers debate regulations
By Joshua HaiarA company hoping to build a carbon dioxide pipeline added eight more ethanol plants as partners Monday, while South Dakota legislators took action on bills that could affect the project.
Summit Carbon Solutions announced a new partnership with Valero Energy. Valero is headquartered in Texas and operates 15 oil refineries in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It’s also the world’s second-largest corn ethanol producer.
The $8 billion pipeline project is poised to be the world’s largest carbon capture and storage endeavor and could qualify for up to $18 billion in federal tax credits. The federal government has made those credits available for entities pulling the heat-trapping greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, out of the atmosphere. The gas is emitted when ethanol is made.
Valero will integrate plants located in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota into Summit’s project, which will now encompass 57 ethanol plants across the upper Midwest. The pipeline would transport liquefied carbon dioxide from the plants to an underground sequestration site in North Dakota.
The decision comes after Valero’s former partner, Navigator CO2 Ventures, failed to obtain a permit in South Dakota and withdrew its pipeline project. That project aimed to transport carbon to a storage site in Illinois.
The Summit project has faced regulatory challenges and opposition from some landowners, and has suffered permit rejections in North Dakota and South Dakota. A permit decision is imminent in Iowa. The company has said it is working to refine its proposal to meet South Dakota requirements and plans to resubmit an application.
Legislative action on pipelines
A bill introducing more stringent requirements for companies seeking access to private land passed the state Senate on a 29-4 vote Monday. The bill now goes back to the House for consideration of amendments.
Under the proposed legislation, any person or entity must have a pending or approved siting permit application with the state before conducting examinations or surveys. The bill also requires a 30-day advance written notice to property owners, detailing the scope of the survey, anticipated entry date and duration, survey types, and contact information for the responsible party.
In addition, the legislation proposes financial compensation for landowners, mandating a one-time $500 payment by carbon pipeline companies to property owners for entry onto private land, along with compensation for any damages incurred. Property owners would have the right to contest the survey or examination by filing a lawsuit in circuit court within 30 days of receiving notice, and could later request the survey results.
Another bill, which passed the Senate 24-9 and is also headed back to the House for consideration of amendments, specifies how carbon pipeline easements are to be granted, recorded and terminated. An easement is an agreement to access private land. Summit says it has easements with about 75% of the landowners on its route in South Dakota.
The bill says carbon pipeline easements would automatically terminate if no permit has been granted by the Public Utilities Commission within five years from their effective date.
Lastly, Senate Bill 201 is awaiting action by a committee of lawmakers to reconcile different House and Senate versions of the legislation.
The conference committee, appointed Monday, includes Senators Casey Crabtree of Madison, David Wheeler of Huron, and David Johnson of Rapid City, and Representatives Will Mortenson of Fort Pierre, Oren Lesmeister of Parade, and Scott Moore of Ipswich.
The bill would force the state’s Public Utilities Commission to overrule counties if their pipeline rules are too burdensome. The commission of three elected officials is responsible for pipeline permitting in the state.
Current law says the PUC “may” overrule counties’ setbacks, which are mandatory minimum distances between pipelines and other features. The legislation says the commission “must” overrule setbacks if they “are unreasonably restrictive in the view of existing technology, factors of cost, or economics, or needs of parties,” or if the county actions are preempted by federal law.
Some senators feel the current version of the bill is too burdensome for the project. As originally introduced by the Senate, the bill would have removed counties’ power to impose setbacks on projects including carbon pipelines. The bill was amended by a House committee.
The current bill also allows counties to impose a surcharge on pipeline companies of $1 per linear foot.
This South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Photo: An ethanol plant near Aberdeen. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
Related posts
- Ethanol carbon pipeline opponents doubt certainty of $1 billion corn-based jet fuel project
- North Dakota Industrial Commission advances CCS marketing despite lawmaker objections
- ND energy councils recommend carbon capture education consultant to Industrial Commission
- Ten bills in South Dakota legislature: eminent domain is the latest front in carbon pipeline fight
- Summit Carbon Solutions denied conditional use permit for pipeline in Northeast Nebraska county
- Another attempt to block ethanol carbon pipelines from using eminent domain fails
- Commentary: Oil pipeline experience proves need for caution with carbon pipelines
- Navigator CO2 Ventures survivor Poet shifts to remaining carbon dioxide pipeline proposal
- Burying the lede: EIS points out improved farming methods & ethanol plants would reduce as much carbon as ethanol carbon pipelines
- MInnesota Department of Commerce releases draft EIS for Otter Tail to Wilkin Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Project; public meetings coming up in Breckenridge & Fergus Falls
- Hundreds of CO2 pipeline critics converged on South Dakota Capitol ahead of legislative session
- CCS squabble: CO2 pipeline debate has resulted in divisions among SD ethanol proponents
- Keystone I pipeline leaks again; after 2017 South Dakota & 2019 North Dakota, Kansas is hit
- Keystone I pipeline leaks again--this time in ND
- TransCanada's state-of-art pipeline bums out SD utilities comish after 3 leaks in under 10 years
- Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate concerned about Keystone I Pipeline oil spill in NE South Dakota
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments