Former Congressman Steve King addressing the crowd of fairgoers with their questions and concerns of the CO2 pipeline
Foundation board members for the Free Soil Foundation and a Shelby County Board of Supervisor and Sierra Club leader addressed a group at the Carroll County Fair yesterday (Wednesday) about Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon capture pipeline that threatens Iowan landowner’s property rights. Summit Carbon Solutions recently had their application to construct, operate, and maintain a 688-mile hazardous liquid pipeline that travels through 29 counties in Iowa to a sequestration storage site in North Dakota approved, but with modifications. While the pipeline is nowhere near ready, legally wise, to be constructed, Former Congressman and founding member of Free Soil Foundation Steve King says landowners and legislative officials need to be proactive in this approach to protect one’s rights as written in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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Shelby County Chairman for the Board of Supervisors, Steve Kenkel, discussed Shelby County taking the initiative by being the first county to establish a hazardous liquid pipeline ordinance. The county previously had an ordinance stating an industrial business could not be located within two miles of incorporated cities to protect economic development. Summit’s proposal for the industrial pipeline goes against the ordinance by placing the route 131 feet from the city limits of Earling. Shelby County supervisors adopted the resolution to restrict a hazardous pipeline but were sued by Summit four days after passing.
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The benefits of the CO2 pipeline include environmental protection by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by capturing and storing them instead of releasing them into the atmosphere, economic impact by creating jobs and boosting ethanol production, and helping produce low-carbon electricity. The pipeline’s high supply will make energy more affordable. Conservation Program Coordinator for the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, Jess Mazour, says all of these are false and that Summit is only after one thing.
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All speakers at the presentation encouraged all farmers and landowners to stand up against industrial businesses and safeguard Iowan property rights. The Iowa Utilities Commission has released a schedule of public informational meetings to discuss the pipeline project, with representatives from Summit Carbon Solutions. These meetings are crucial for understanding the project and voicing concerns. A list of the scheduled informative meetings has been included below.
— Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. in Adams County: Corning Opera House Cultural Center, 800 Davis Ave., Corning
— Aug. 27 at noon in Montgomery County: Red Coach Inn, 1200 Senate Ave., Red Oak
— Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. in Guthrie County: Guthrie County Activity Center, 209 State St., Guthrie Center
— Aug. 28 at noon in Greene County: Clover Hall, Greene County Fairgrounds, 601 E. Lincoln Way, Jefferson
— Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. in Webster County: Cardiff Center, Fort Frenzy, 3232 First Ave South, Fort Dodge
— Aug. 29 at noon in Hamilton County: Jewell Golf Club banquet room, 1225 Main St., Jewell
— Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. in Hardin County: Albright’s Bluff, 119 Main St., Iowa Falls