New poll shows 81% oppose eminent domain for 'private' projects

A poll commissioned by groups that oppose carbon dioxide pipelines shows that 81 percent of Iowans object to the use of eminent domain for what pollsters described as "private" purposes, including pipelines.

The poll was commissioned by Bold Alliance and was conducted in July by California-based Embold Research, which said it has a margin of error of about 2.2 percent.

It asked about 2,500 people in six Midwestern states whether they support or oppose forced land takings for projects that are for "private use," such as "corporations building pipelines or shopping malls."

About 64 percent of poll respondents in Iowa strongly opposed that scenario, and about 16 percent were somewhat opposed.

Overall, about 81 percent of respondents in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska and North and South Dakota were opposed.

Jess Mazour, of the Sierra Club of Iowa, said Thursday in a meeting with reporters that the poll results back her organization's view that "Iowans are overwhelmingly opposed to carbon pipelines."

"Iowans are saying loud and clear: 'No,'" she said.

The Sierra Club has been a leading organizer of opposition to Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed carbon dioxide pipeline system, which would span about 2,500 miles in five states to transport the greenhouse gas from ethanol plants to North Dakota for underground storage.

State regulators recently approved a permit for the company's initial 690-mile route in Iowa. Summit had sought eminent domain to gain forced land easements from unwilling property owners for about a quarter of the route. Those easements allow the company to build and operate its pipeline system on land it doesn't own.

In issuing the permit, the Iowa Utilities Commission granted the company the power of eminent domain, ruling that the project benefited the public.

Summit declined to comment specifically on the poll results but said: "Our goal is to secure 100 percent voluntary easement agreements while working closely with ethanol partners to grow markets and drive economic growth."

The recent poll results are similar to those of a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll last year that asked how people viewed "the use of eminent domain to build carbon-capture pipelines." About 78 percent opposed it.

Some state lawmakers in Iowa have unsuccessfully sought to limit eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. In 2023, the Iowa House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would have required companies like Summit to obtain voluntary easements for 90 percent of their routes before being eligible for eminent domain, but the Senate did not vote on it.

About 94 percent of Iowa respondents in the Bold Alliance poll were very or somewhat concerned about corporations being "allowed to seize people's private property to build carbon capture and storage projects.“ About 88 percent said the same of the risk of "carbon dioxide leaks at potentially lethal levels."

Mark Hefflinger, a spokesperson for Bold Alliance, declined to release a full list of questions and results from the poll.

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