Plymouth County Supervisors Against Eminent Domain for CO2 Pipelines
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors is joining other Iowa counties requesting that the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) deny the use of eminent domain for two proposed carbon-dioxide pipelines.
Both Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator Heartland Greenway have targeted Plymouth County in northwest Iowa to build pipelines to transport carbon dioxide (CO2) from ethanol and other CO2-producing plants in liquid form to underground storage facilities. The same two companies have also eyed Floyd County, specifically the Valero Renewables plant just west of Charles City. Summit would also like the Homeland Energy Solutions plant between New Hampton and Lawler to be the easternmost origination point for its Midwest Carbon Express pipeline.
Plymouth County Supervisors Chairman Don Kass says if the IUB grants eminent domain for projects like these, it means eminent domain could be used for any number of projects for which it never was intended. Kass says eminent domain should be used for things like roads, and bridges, and schools and police stations and fire stations. He says the pipelines are just profit centers for the CO2 companies and are not like electric lines and natural gas pipelines, which are needed to serve everyone.
Kass says Plymouth County will ask that the IUB deny these permits to these two entities. Boards of Supervisors in Dickinson and Kossuth counties have filed similar requests with the IUB.
Heartland Navigator Greenway has upcoming public hearings for their proposed pipeline in Franklin County on Friday, January 21st from noon to 2 p.m. at the Franklin County Convention Center in Hampton. Floyd County’s hearing is Monday, January 24th from noon to 2 p.m. at the Youth Enrichment Center on the Floyd County Fairgrounds. Later that same day, Butler County’s hearing will be hosted in the Greene Community Center from 6 to 8 p.m.
