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A bill approved by the Iowa House on Thursday would allow landowners who are subject to eminent domain requests by carbon dioxide pipeline companies to challenge the legitimacy of those requests in court earlier in the permit proceedings.
House File 2664 was approved by a bipartisan, 86-7 vote. Its future in the Senate is unclear.
It is the latest attempt by the House to aid landowners who object to Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed use of eminent domain to build a sprawling pipeline system that would transport captured carbon dioxide from 30 ethanol plants in Iowa to North Dakota for underground storage.
If the Iowa Utilities Board grants the company’s request, landowners who have refused to negotiate easements for the project voluntarily would have to give up the land use at a price set by a government board.
A bill the House adopted last year would have required Summit to obtain voluntary land easements for 90% of its route before being eligible for eminent domain. The Senate did not take it up.
The new bill the House approved Thursday would not, itself, limit eminent domain for the pipeline projects. It is meant to expedite a court decision about whether eminent domain is allowable — a decision that under current rules might come many months after state regulators issue a permit.
The bill would allow court challenges before permits are issued, at the request of affected landowners or the companies that propose the projects.
“For that entire period, you have the century farms, landowners, people who didn’t especially want to have this pipeline going over their land and have some questions about it, not being able to get an answer on their constitutional law question and not being able to sell their land at full value or make a decision on tiling or make a decision on estate planning for all that period of time,” said Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City, who is an attorney and managed the bill. “This bill corrects that.”
Summit began its pipeline permit process with the Iowa Utilities Board in August 2021. A year later in August 2022, it began notifying the board of properties that might be subject to its eminent domain requests. Now, about 19 months later, the board is poised to decide those requests, which represent about a quarter of its initial route in Iowa.
The board has declined say whether Summit’s project benefits the public in a way that makes it eligible for eminent domain.
“This legislation simply allows both landowners and companies the opportunity to have a declaratory judgment up front on the constitutionality of an eminent domain request, before precious time and money are wasted,” said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, who has been a leading voice against eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. “This legislation would allow landowners a little peace of mind, getting to know up front the validity of an eminent domain request so that they could plan accordingly, as opposed to waiting and fighting for years, their land in limbo, their futures in doubt, their lives full of tension and fear, while they plead with their elected officials to hear them.”
The legislation is opposed by Summit, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and several biofuels companies, according to lobbyist declarations. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation did not declare its opposition or support.
Seven House Republicans voted against the bill: Michael Bergan of Decorah, Tom Determann of Clinton, Chad Ingels of Randalia, Brian Lohse of Bondurant, Norlin Mommsen of DeWitt, Matt Rinker of Burlington, and David Sieck of Glenwood.
The scope of Summit’s project has expanded in recent months after another company, Navigator CO2, abandoned a similar proposal. That has led Summit to ink agreements with most of the ethanol plants that had intended to connect to the Navigator system.
Summit’s proposal has grown to about 2,500 miles of pipe in five states to transport carbon dioxide from 57 ethanol plants. The company was initially denied permits by state regulators in the Dakotas, but North Dakota is reconsidering a modified plan. Summit has said it will reapply in South Dakota with a different route.
DES MOINES — Vivek Ramaswamy criticized plans to build carbon capture pipelines across Iowa as an abuse of eminent domain and questioned the climate change goals the pipelines serve to advance at a rally in Des Moines Friday.
The Ohio biotech entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate was joined by state lawmakers who have led efforts to restrict eminent domain authority for the pipelines, as well as activists who have opposed their construction on their land.
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at an event focused on carbon capture pipelines in Des Moines on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.CALEB MCCULLOUGH
Ramaswamy has focused more attention on the carbon capture pipeline issue this week and has taken shots at Republican figures for not forcefully opposing the projects.
Ramaswamy has struggled to gain support in Iowa polling despite dozens of events across the state in recent weeks. He has pulled in around 5% of support from likely Republican caucusgoers in recent Iowa polls.
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Proposed multi-state pipelines to capture CO2 at ethanol plants for storage underground have faced a coalition of opposition from conservative Republicans who oppose the use of eminent domain as well as climate activists that see the projects as a false solution to global climate change.
Summit Carbon Solutions and Wolf Carbon Solutions are both planning pipelines to capture CO2 at ethanol plants in Iowa and store it in underground reservoirs. A third proposed project by Navigator CO2 Ventures was scrapped last month as the company cited the “unpredictable nature” of the regulatory process.
Ethanol industry leaders say the pipelines are key to allowing manufacturers to sell in states and countries that mandate low-carbon fuel and unlock new markets for sustainable aviation fuel.
Iowa Renewable Fuel Association Executive Director Monte Shaw hit back at Ramaswamy in a statement on Thursday, calling him hypocritical for supporting the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which also used eminent domain.
“Iowans are tired of seeing politicians bow down to petroleum companies while finding excuses to hamstring the future of agriculture,” Shaw said. “Unfortunately, these are the typical games we’ve come to expect from politicians running on fumes.”
Ramaswamy said state Republican leaders have supported the pipelines’ construction despite the opposition of voters.
“Why are the Republican puppets that claim to represent you, why are they supporting this issue, or even worse, ignoring it?” he said.
The GOP establishment does NOT approve of this message & it’s pathetic I’m the only candidate with the stones to say it:
The climate change agenda is a hoax & it’s hurting farmers in Iowa. Here’s how: the U.S. government enacted crony subsidies to reward those who build CO₂… pic.twitter.com/q3h02UwKeo
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has supported the carbon pipeline projects because of their potential to boost Iowa agriculture, but she has said eminent domain should only be used as a last resort.
Other candidates have touched on the issue throughout the campaign, including former President Donald Trump, who told voters in Council Bluffs, “We’re working on that” in response to a question about the pipelines, according to NBC News. As president, Trump signed legislation to support carbon capture technology and extend tax credits for the projects.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, whose state would house Summit’s storage reservoir, has been a major supporter of the projects and said they could transform the agriculture economy for Iowa and other Midwestern states. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have both expressed skepticism of the use of eminent domain for the projects.
Eminent domain
Ramaswamy said the driving force behind his attention to the issue was the possibility of using eminent domain to involuntarily take land to construct the projects.
Summit, which has asked for eminent domain authority, is awaiting a decision from the Iowa Utilities Board over its application for the pipeline. Wolf has said it does not intend to use eminent domain to build its pipeline, and recently asked to resubmit its application in Illinois.
A sign protesting carbon capture pipelines is pictured at an event held by presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in Des Moines on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.
CALEB MCCULLOUGH
Ramaswamy said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. New London, which broadened the federal standard for eminent domain, was wrongly decided and that eminent domain should not be used for private companies.
“I’m a skeptic of eminent domain period, but if the government has some public use, not just private companies, but if it’s a public use, that’s the limited circumstance in which eminent domain is able to be used,” he said.
He suggested that approving eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines could lead to more seizure of private property to achieve climate goals.
Climate change
Another reason Ramaswamy said he opposed the pipelines was the promise that they would lower carbon emissions as a solution to climate change.
The technology has been advanced by some activists as a solution to climate change and a way to create low-carbon fuel, but other climate activists say they are not an effective method of addressing climate change and serve to prop up fossil fuels.
Ramaswamy referred to what he calls the “climate change agenda” as a “hoax,” arguing there is no need to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Ramaswamy said he thinks the severity of global climate change has been overstated and does not pose a serious threat.
“I do not believe that this has a major impact on human flourishing,” he said. “To the contrary, what does, is the bad policies that we’re adopting in the name of it.”
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks with a voter after an event on carbon capture pipelines in Des Moines on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.CALEB MCCULLOUGH
Landowner: Ramaswamy “is standing up for us.”
Lisa Dirks, one of many involved landowners who attended the event, said Ramaswamy’s statements about the carbon capture pipelines has made her seriously consider him as a caucus candidate, though she is still undecided.
Dirks’ Cedar County land is on the route of the proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline.
“Vivek now is standing up for us, because this … is a solution to a problem that does not exist,” she said. “And capturing this is only putting money in the pocket of the big boys.”
Public meeting about Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline
The southeast path is the preferred trunkline route. The northeast path is the preferred lateral route. Wolf Carbon Solutions
Attendees look over a map of the proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
David Schmunk, president of Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Nick Noppinger, senior vice president of corporate development at Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Jeff Cook, an attorney with the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline Wednesday at the Adler Theater in Davenport. NIKOS FRAZIER
Geri Huser, Iowa Utilities Board Chair, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
David Schmunk, president of Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Nick Noppinger, senior vice president of corporate development at Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Scott County Supervisor Ken Croken asks a question during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline Wednesday at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Gail Beech, an attorney with Iowa Utilities Board , speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Inside the Adler Theater during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Gail Beech, an attorney with Iowa Utilities Board , speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Geri Huser, Iowa Utilities Board Chair, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
David Schmunk, president of Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
David Schmunk, president of Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
David Schmunk, president of Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Jeff Cook, an attorney with the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Nick Noppinger, senior vice president of corporate development at Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
A map of the preliminary pipeline route is displayed during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
David Schmunk, president of Wolf Carbon Solutions, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Geri Huser, Iowa Utilities Board Chair, speaks during a public information meeting on a proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at the Adler Theater in Davenport. The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would connect ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to an underground storage site in central Illinois slated to go through Clinton and Scott counties.NIKOS FRAZIER
Des Moines, Iowa — Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says the government should not grant carbon pipeline developers authority to seize land from Iowans who do not want the pipeline on their property.
On Friday in Des Moines, Ramaswamy appeared at an event with a group of carbon pipeline opponents called the Free Soil Coalition.
Ramaswamy says his competitors for the GOP presidential nomination should clearly state their views on the issue. He’s also challenging Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who has endorsed rival Ron DeSantis, to say whether she’s on the side of eminent domain or not.
Ramaswamy says the issue exposes what he describes as the broken and corrupt state of the Republican Party establishment.
Ramaswamy says he’s met with influential Republican donor Bruce Rastetter, who owns Summit Carbon Solutions — the Iowa company seeking a state permit to construct and operate a pipeline to ship carbon out of ethanol plants to underground storage in North Dakota. He says the projects make no sense and the risks of running liquid carbon through an underground pipeline do not match the purported benefits.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that addressing a proposed carbon capture pipeline could help him become “a major surprise” in January’s Iowa caucuses.
Farmers in the Midwest have opposed efforts to build a series of carbon-capture pipelines in Illinois, South Dakota and Iowa. All four Republican members of the House of Representatives from Iowa sought to protect tax credits for the pipeline network.
“I’ve been very complementary of [Republican] Gov. [Kim] Reynolds, but there is one key issue that matters to a lot of people in Iowa at that not one candidate has had the attempt to take forward and nobody in the aisle establishment has talked about it, which is the carbon dioxide capture pipeline across farmers’ land now potentially using eminent domain to even run the pipeline across land that Iowa farmers don’t want to allow across their land,” Ramaswamy told “Your World with Neil Cavuto” host Neil Cavuto. “People across the state are livid about this. This is a major issue for the grassroots. I’m the only candidate daring to even touch it.”
Regulators in South Dakota denied a permit for a carbon-capture pipeline in September, citing objections from local landowners.
“I’m not one of these people to believe that somebody is automatically 100% correct or 100% wrong on everything,” Ramaswamy continued. “I am praising Kim Reynolds’ plan for education and school choice and otherwise, but she should not hide from this issue. Because I’m speaking to many of those issues that other candidates are not, I think it’s going to be a major sign of a surprise coming into the Iowa caucus.”
Ramaswamy currently draws 5% support in the RealClearPolitics average of polls surveying Iowa from Oct. 22 to Nov. 15, trailing former President Donald Trump, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who suspended his campaign Nov. 12.
“The climate religion has been one of my core issues even long before I ran for president, so this is near and dear to my heart,” Ramaswamy said. “I think more broadly, my brand here with the Iowa grassroots is when I started this campaign with: Speak the truth, not just when it’s easy, but when it’s hard. Speak the truth not just of the Democrats on the other side, but to our own failures and our own Republican Party here at home.”
“One of the things we’re seeing on the ground is that many of the people coming to our events, supporting me and I think this is unique to my candidacy, have never participated in a caucus before,” Ramaswamy continued. “Many of them are young. If they turn out for the caucus, as they are signaling to us they will at a large scale, I think we’re going to deliver a major surprise on January 15th.”
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DES MOINES, Iowa — Vivek Ramaswamy is running for the Republican presidential nomination. On Friday he took a detour to wade into an issue that a number of farmers and land owners are dealing with across the state — a proposed Summit Carbon Pipeline.
A group called the Iowa Soil Coalition held the meeting with Ramaswamy and former Iowa congressman Steve King.
“Thanks so much Vivek again for your team for pulling this together here today,” said King. “I want to thank the Free Soil Coalition, we formed that organization on 8 July at Fort Dodge, Iowa. We called some people together and said let’s stand up for our property rights, they poured into that place about 400 of them altogether.”
“On every level from local to the presidential, we need leaders who are able to cut through to the bottom of what’s actually happening,” said Ramaswamy. “This is not about protecting the ethanol industry, in fact, this is one of the most long-term harmful deals to the ethanol industry. It’s bending the knee to markets that eventually will cause it to cease to exist.”
The group also heard from a landowner that would be affected by the pipeline since Summit wants to utilize eminent domain.
“We have six parcels affected by Summit Carbon Solutions so we are on their exhibit list, which means that they want to use the domain on us,” said Cathy Stockdale, a Hardin County Farmer. “If there is a leak on our farm, we will be dead. We are in the kill zone.”
Ramaswamy has expressed his opposition to the Summit Carbon Solutions carbon pipeline and the use of eminent domain. In a press
“What really stood out to me, was the use of eminent domain, the idea that, they were going to use our money to advance some other agenda that didn’t advance American interest to what end? Capture carbon dioxide and burying it in the ground? Come on this is one of many jokes that we’ve adopted in this country,” said Ramaswamy. “The GOP establishment does NOT approve of this message, and it’s pathetic I’m the only candidate to say it.”
Commission will decide whether county ordinances restricting placement of CO2 pipelines should stand
By Jared Strong – Iowa Capital Dispatch
Dec. 4, 2023 5:00 am
A sign reading “No CO2, no eminent domain” stands along a rural road east of Bismarck, N.D., in August. The sign is in opposition to Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed $5.5 billion, 2,000-mile pipeline network to carry carbon dioxide emissions from dozens of ethanol plants in five states to central North Dakota for permanent storage deep underground. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)
A hearing to discuss whether utility regulators in North Dakota should overrule county ordinances that limit the placement of a carbon dioxide pipeline is set for Dec. 21.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission is in the process of reconsidering an application by Summit Carbon Solutions, which seeks to build a five-state pipeline system to transport the captured greenhouse gas from ethanol plants to North Dakota for underground storage.
The newly scheduled hearing concerns ordinances in Burleigh and Emmons counties that restrict how close the pipelines can be located to cities, houses, livestock facilities and other sites. Summit has argued they are so restrictive that they might prevent the project.
Commissioners have indicated they are divided on the issue, and Summit seeks a ruling early in the reconsideration process because of the effects it will have on its proposed route.
In August, the commission unanimously denied Summit a permit for the project because the company had failed to show it minimized its impact on residents. At the time, the commission did not make a decision about the county ordinances because it was denying the permit for other reasons.
Summit convinced the commission to reconsider its permit application with a revised route that avoids a handful of landowners who oppose the project and that is farther away from Bismarck, the capital city.
The commission’s decision to deny the company’s initial request — along with a similar decision by utility regulators in South Dakota — preceded Summit’s announcement that the completion of its pipeline system would be delayed to 2026. It had initially said the system would be operational next year.
It’s unclear how long the reconsideration process in North Dakota will take. State law does not dictate a timeline.
The commission has not yet received all of the information it has requested from Summit about its revisions to the project, said Victor Schock, the commission’s director of public utilities. After it does, the commission is likely to hold at least two further hearings to solicit feedback about the proposal.
A company spokesperson was unsure when the rest of the information will be submitted.
Summit recently paid $150,000 to the commission to cover the expenses associated with those yet-to-be-scheduled hearings, and Schock said the company will be reimbursed for whatever money goes unused.
The company’s permit process in Iowa is drawing to a conclusion. A weekslong evidentiary hearing for the project — more than 680 miles of which would be located in Iowa — concluded last month. Written arguments are due to the Iowa Utilities Board late this month, and rebuttals are due mid January. It’s unclear when the board will issue its decision.
In South Dakota, the company plans to file a new permit application. Company spokesperson Sabrina Zenor said an altered route for that state has not yet been finalized.
