The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) has approved the Summit Carbon Solutions application to construct, operate, and maintain a hazardous liquid pipeline through 29 counties in Iowa, with modifications. Summit Carbon filed the petition on January 28, 2022, for the 688-mile pipeline to transport liquefied carbon dioxide through Iowa to North Dakota for permanent underground sequestration. The decision comes following a nearly three-year process, during which the IUB conducted 33 public informational meetings, reviewed approximately 50,000 pages of testimony and exhibits, held a 25-day public hearing, accepted over 150 intervenors, heard testimony from more than 200 witnesses, and reviewed nearly 7,500 pages of hearing transcripts and 4,200 written comments. The IUB found that Summit Carbon met the requirements of Iowa Code and determined the pipeline “will provide a service that is in the public convenience and necessity.” The decision approves the overall pipeline route and grants Summit Carbon the right of eminent domain over specific parcels listed in the order after the permit is issued. That order can be found below. Summit Carbon must secure a $100 million general liability insurance policy and obtain route approvals from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska before construction can begin. Summit’s proposed route includes areas in Crawford, Greene, Ida, Shelby, and Webster counties. The route could be expanded further after POET Biorefining and Valero announced a partnership earlier this year with Summit to connect their plants to the pipeline. While the conditional permit has been approved, the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline will likely face extensive legal challenges from landowners subject to eminent domain seizures.
