Floyd County to Hire Legal Representation to Deal with Carbon Pipelines
Floyd County is hiring a Des Moines law firm to help them establish more local control over the possible construction of underground carbon capture pipelines in the County.
With both Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator CO2 Ventures wanting to build pipelines in the county, attorney Timothy Whipple with Ahlers and Cooney, PC, told the Board of Supervisors this week that the County will want to have a strong voice with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) permitting process.
Floyd County will join the “intervention process” with at least three other counties, including Emmet and Kossuth in north Iowa. Butler and Bremer counties are also considering Whipple’s firm.
Whipple says the County could expect to pay upwards of $10,000 each for legal services regarding zoning ordinances and for right-of-ways for pipelines to cross County roads. He says estimating legal fees in IUB proceedings is unknown.
Supervisor Chair Mark Kuhn said the County has a couple of options to cover their legal fees.
Kuhn said they could use Rural Service Basic funds from the County budget, but said that wouldn’t be fair to taxpayers.The Board voted 2-0 to hire Whipple’s law firm, with Supervisors Kuhn and Dennis Keifer voting in favor and Supervisor Jim Jorgenson abstaining.
