A company that is wanting to establish a carbon dioxide pipeline through Iowa recently took a step toward the end goal.

Summit Carbon Solutions is looking to build a 2,000 mile carbon dioxide pipeline across five Midwest states, including Iowa, that will capture liquid carbon emissions from ethanol plants and store them in an underground facility in North Dakota. Louis Dreyfus in Greene County is one of the participating facilities, of which the overall pipeline will include a total of 10.9 miles into the county.

Summit Carbon Solutions recently filed a permit for a hazardous liquid pipeline with the Iowa Utility Board. Greene County Environmental Administrator Chuck Wenthold said at last Thursday’s County Supervisors meeting that the company also requested eminent domain, which means they can take land from a landowner by force if necessary for the project. Wenthold added the Iowa Utility Board has not issued the permit, nor has it responded to the eminent domain request.

In October, an informational meeting was held in Greene County where over 100 people attended. At that meeting, a representative with Louis Dreyfus said they signed a 12 year agreement with Summit as a way to keep ethanol a viable long term asset. Several people were also not in favor of the pipeline at that meeting, some came from other counties that are slated to be involved. Each county that the pipeline would go through is allowed to hire an inspector, which the Greene County Supervisors have not yet done.

The next step in the process is for the Iowa Utility Board to hold a public hearing, which the date has not been announced. The IUB instructs that any landowner can make written comments either in favor or against the project and verbal or other means of communication will not be filed, only a written comment. Click the link below to submit a comment.

https://iub.iowa.gov/online-services/open-docket-comment-form