Wolf Carbon Solutions must respect our lives

How close to our schools, nursing homes, churches, businesses, and homes should Wolf run their CO2 pipelines?

It is not PHMSA, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, that determines the siting of CO2 pipelines. State and local authorities do. But in order to determine minimum setbacks for the route, the Iowa Utilities Board needs access to specific scientific studies and modeling that the CO2 pipeline companies have developed.

Last month, the Office of Consumer Advocate was joined by the Farm Bureau and the Sierra Club in a request that the three companies pursuing CO2 pipeline projects in Iowa—Summit, Navigator, and Wolf — provide such information to the Iowa Utilities Board. Wolf responded that, “the requested information in question — an emergency response plan ("ERP"), a risk assessment, and a discharge plume model — should not be required as a condition precedent to the granting of a permit for the construction of a hazardous liquid pipeline.” They want to build this thing before they release information about what emergency responders would need to do in case of a rupture, how many fatalities could be expected, or where and how far the deadly CO2 could travel!

Moreover, in the wake of the accident in Satartia, Miss., federal safety efforts were also shown to be insufficient. Thus, PHMSA has announced that they are conducting a multimillion-dollar, multiyear research effort to “strengthen its safety oversight of carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines around the country to protect communities from dangerous pipeline failures.” But Wolf, again, wants to build their project before PHMSA has finished this crucial research.

Wolf, we will not sign easements with a company that does not respect our lives!

Jessica Wiskus, Lisbon and LP Atkinson, Mount Vernon; Nelson Baethke, Mount Vernon; Fran Buresh, Ely; Glenn Buresh, Ely; Bob Campagna, Mount Vernon; Sheri Chapman, Ely; Bob Clark, Lisbon; Chris Clark, Lisbon; James Clark, Des Moines; Larry Collins, Lisbon; Brian Dake, Mount Vernon; Cheryl Dake, Mount Vernon; Carol Daly, Lisbon; Mike Daly, Lisbon; Deborah Dee, Coralville; Sue Deibner, Mount Vernon; Marilee Feldman, Mount Vernon; Doug Hanson, Mount Vernon; Miriam Kashia, Iowa City; Sara Kelley, Mount Vernon; Tim Kelley, Mount Vernon; John Kenney, Ely; Patrice Ryerson Kiefer, Lisbon; Kortney Kotz, Mechanicsville; Virginia Kotz, Mechanicsville; Laura Krouse, Mount Vernon; Ed Mertens, Ely; Paul Morf, Putnam Township; Lois Pavelka, Mount Vernon; Steve Pisarik, Mount Vernon; Susan Pisarik, Mount Vernon; Melody Neustrom Rockwell, Cedar Rapids; Stacey Schildroth, Ely; David Stoner, Mount Vernon; Jo Ann Stoner, Mount Vernon; Dan Tronchetti, Paton; Chris Wiskus, Lisbon; David Wiskus, Lisbon.