Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra says if he’s elected governor, he’d lead negotiations to end the simmering conflict over a proposed pipeline that would ship carbon from Iowa ethanol plants to storage in other state.
“I am adamantly against using eminent domain. We can’t use it for private companies, but we also have to get together as a legislature, as a body and resolve this issue,” Feenstra said. “We can’t let it fester. We’ve got to get it done.”
This past June, Governor Kim Reynolds vetoed a bill that would have imposed new restrictions on the pipeline. The move sparked criticism from fellow Republicans who oppose giving Summit Carbon Solutions eminent domain authority to seize land along the pipeline route from unwilling property owners. Feenstra, during a campaign stop in Sioux City, outlined his approach. “The first thing I would do is call everybody together and say: ‘Let’s get a bill that we can pass.’ And that’s what has to happen, but we always have to remember private property is private,” Feenstra said. “That means there has to be a negotiation between and the business if they want something to be built.”
Earlier this week, GOP competitor Zach Lahn said it isn’t enough to say eminent domain should not be used for the project. Lahn has pledged to stop construction of the pipeline if he’s elected governor. The Iowa Utilities Commission has granted Summit Carbon Solutions a permit to build and operate a pipeline if the company secures permits in four neighboring states where the proposed pipeline would also operate.
(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City/O. Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa also contributed to this story.)