An administrative law judge says Summit Carbon Solutions should give documents of its “dispersion modeling†to groups that seek them as evidence for the company’s upcoming pipeline permit hearing.
That modeling attempts to predict whether populated areas near the pipeline route would be at risk if the pipeline is breached and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). The gas is an asphyxiant, toxic at high concentrations, and heavier than air. Under certain weather and topographic conditions, a dense plume of carbon dioxide can travel significant distances.
In 2020, a pipeline break in Mississippi released a plume of CO2 that traveled about a mile to a nearby town. About 200 people were evacuated from the area and 45 sought medical treatment. No one died. Dispersion modeling for that pipeline didn’t predict the town was at risk.Â
Summit has resisted requests for the results of its plume modeling in Iowa and has argued that the information pertains to safety issues governed by federal regulators. But the Sierra Club of Iowa, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and several counties said the models are important for deciding the pipeline’s route, which is governed by the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB).
This, Toby Gordon, an administrative law judge for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, agreed the information is likely to be admissible as evidence for the IUB when it decides whether to issue Summit a pipeline permit. He ordered Summit to provide the documents to the requesters within two days, but the company can appeal.
The final evidentiary hearing for Summit’s project permit is set to begin next Tuesday (08.22) in Fort Dodge as the company seeks to build portions of its carbon pipeline in Floyd, Chickasaw, Mitchell, Franklin, Cerro Gordo and Hancock in north Iowa as part of almost 680 miles of pipeline in the state.
