Bremer County seeks to block Summit easements for pipeline expansion

Summit Carbon Solutions might have violated state rules by prematurely obtaining land easement agreements in Bremer County from another carbon dioxide pipeline company, the county argues in a recent regulatory filing.

At issue are the unspecified number of agreements Summit announced earlier this month it had acquired from Navigator CO2.

Both companies had sought to build sprawling pipeline systems in Midwestern states to transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol producers to sequestration sites, where the greenhouse gas would be pumped deep underground.

Navigator canceled its plans last year. Summit has since gained approval from the Iowa Utilities Commission for its initial 690-mile proposal and has contracts with many of Navigator's former ethanol plants to expand its project.

Summit has sent letters to landowners that say it acquired a portion of Navigator's easement agreements for the extensions of its initial proposal, but it's unclear how many of those might be in Bremer County.

Those easements would allow Summit to build and operate its pipeline system on land it doesn't own. The pipeline companies are barred by Iowa law from negotiating or purchasing the easements before they hold informational meetings in the counties affected by the expansion.

Bremer's meeting is set for Sept. 10 in Waverly.

"The easement agreements entered into by Navigator ... cannot be purchased by Summit without violating" that law, wrote Tim Whipple, an attorney for Bremer County and several other counties that have opposed Summit's plans.

The law is a measure of protection for landowners to be sure they are informed about a project before potentially committing their properties to it. In the meetings, Summit presents the overall project and the general route through the counties and answers questions from attendees.

“Bremer County landowners had their first informational meeting two years ago, and we are legally required to notify them of any easement assignment,” said Sabrina Zenor, a Summit spokesperson, in reference to meetings held by Navigator.

She said the company is “committed to following all legal guidelines.”

Bremer County, in its recent motion to the utilities commission, asked commissioners to:

It’s unclear when the commission will respond to the motion. Whipple said he did not know whether other counties might make similar requests regarding the other extension proposals.

With the expansions, Summit's project would span about 2,500 miles in five states and transport carbon dioxide from nearly 60 ethanol producers to North Dakota for underground storage.

Comments: (319) 368-8541; jared.strong@thegazette.com