The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.

During open forum, County Environmental Administrator Chuck Wenthold presented several solar energy ordinances from surrounding counties for the Supervisors to review in order to develop their own ordinance. 

County Attorney Thomas Laehn talked about re-codifying the county’s ordinances. He presented 29 existing ordinances and he wanted the Supervisors to review those and discuss them at a future meeting before finalizing which ones would remain prior to re-codification. 

Next, the Board heard an update on the carbon dioxide pipeline project from Summit Carbon Solutions. A Summit Carbon representative said the ultimate goal of capturing carbon dioxide from 32 ethanol plants across five Midwest states to be delivered to an underground facility in North Dakota is to lower the plant’s carbon score and then be more competitive with other markets. It was mentioned that the total investment in Greene County by Summit is $34 million and has received 60-percent of voluntary acquisition of easements from the landowners. 

The representative also mentioned not using eminent domain, but only as a last resort. They are aiming for 100-percent voluntary land acquisition. Construction is anticipated to begin next summer, if the Iowa Utilities Board grants a permit to the company. The Board took no action following the update.

Finally, the Board approved the budget amendment for the current fiscal year as presented, following a public hearing where no comments were made. Then, as Drainage District Trustees, they approved five drainage district assessments and the waiver rate of six-percent.