The Iowa Utilities Board has unanimously approved the proposed route for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, but the company must meet other requirements before construction may begin.
All three members of the Iowa Utilities Board agree “the public benefits of the project outweigh the private and public costs,” according to an agency news release issued this morning That clears the way for Summit to eventually use eminent domain authority to force landowners who’ve resisted the project to let the pipeline through their property.
The board’s order includes some major caveats before Summit would get to start construction, however. Summit must get approval from South and North Dakota regulators for its pipeline route in those states, plus approval in North Dakota for the underground site where carbon is to be shipped and stored. In addition, Summit cannot connect the pipeline to ethanol plants in Minnesota and Nebraska until officials in those states OK those moves. The Iowa Utilities Board order requires Summit to get $100 million worth of liability insurance to cover any damages related to “construction, operation and maintenance” of the pipeline.
The Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline route runs 688 miles, through 29 Iowa counties. According to a news release from the company, 75% of landowners along the route have signed voluntary easements and the Iowa Utilities Board decision is “a significant milestone” for the project.
(Check back for updates on this developing story.)