Summit sues Bremer County for pipeline ordinances

A company that wants to build a sprawling carbon dioxide pipeline system has sued Bremer County for its ordinances that restrict the placement of its pipe and its ability to survey land, according to federal court documents.

It is the sixth lawsuit Summit Carbon Solutions has filed against Iowa counties for the ordinances, alleging the counties overstepped their authority.

Those suits have so far succeeded, but a judge's decisions in favor of Summit is the subject of appeals that have not concluded.

Summit's proposed system would span more than 2,500 miles in five states. It would connect to more than 50 ethanol plants and transport captured carbon dioxide to North Dakota for underground storage.

The company received approval from the Iowa Utilities Commission for the first phase of its project, although it cannot start construction until it gets approval in South Dakota. The company is now seeking permits to expand its footprint in Iowa.

That includes a 29-mile stretch of pipe that would bisect Bremer County, which does not have an ethanol plant. That segment of pipe is necessary to reach a POET Bioprocessing facility to the east near Fairbank.

County restrictions

The Bremer County Board of Supervisors adopted two ordinances that Summit is challenging.

In February 2023 the supervisors approved an ordinance that requires pipeline companies to: obtain a county permit; provide emergency response plans in case of a pipeline breach, including plume modeling; and keep a minimum distance between a pipeline and areas that are populated with people and livestock.

Specifically, the ordinance requires a separation distance of at least two miles from city limits, a half mile from houses, churches, nursing homes and public recreation areas, and 1,000 feet from livestock operations and certain utilities infrastructure.

The board adopted the ordinance amid plans by Navigator CO2 to build a similar pipeline system. That company also sued Bremer County but dropped the case when it abandoned its project last year.

Summit's route in the county passes within about a mile of the town of Readlyn and it crosses the Wapsipinicon River in close proximity to numerous public areas.

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Summit argues in its lawsuit that the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has authority over pipeline safety regulation, and that the Iowa Utilities Commission determines whether routes are acceptable.

The second ordinance was approved in September 2024, and it requires pipeline companies to seek a county permit to go onto private property to survey land without the property owner's permission.

State law says the companies are allowed to trespass to conduct land surveys, which they use to determine a more precise pipeline path. The companies can seek a court order and assistance from law enforcement to facilitate the surveys.

That law is being challenged by a Hardin County landowner and is under consideration by the Iowa Supreme Court. The justices held a hearing for oral arguments last month, but it's unclear when they will issue a ruling.

Bremer County Attorney Darius Robinson wrote to Summit's attorneys in late October and asked a company representative to attend a board meeting "to discuss the company's compliance with the county's ordinances," according to the lawsuit.

Robinson noted there might be consequences for violations. The survey ordinance includes a $750 fine for an initial violation and $1,000 for each violation thereafter.

Two weeks later, on Nov. 13, Summit sued the county.

The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to temporarily halt the enforcement of the ordinances until the case concludes and, ultimately, for a judge to nullify them.

The survey ordinance "is injuring Summit by preventing it from completing — or even beginning — survey work that is needed to move forward on phase two of the pipeline project in Bremer County," the lawsuit alleges.

The county’s supervisors, in a prepared statement, said the ordinances were intended to find a compromise that was palatable to Summit and residents who are concerned about the company’s “extremely controversial” project.

“However, they have chosen to further alienate the affected parties and increase the property tax obligations with unnecessary litigation defense costs of the very residents they are desiring to sign land-use easements with in preparation for their CO2 pipeline project,” the supervisors said.

Other lawsuits

Similar lawsuits are pending against five other counties, including Emmet, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Shelby and Story.

Late last year a federal judge sided with Summit in its lawsuits against Shelby and Story.

"The challenged restrictions impose severe limitations that will lead to a situation where the (commission) may grant a permit to construct a pipeline and Summit is unable to do so," wrote Chief Judge Stephanie Rose, of the federal Southern District of Iowa.

The two counties appealed that ruling, and a U.S. Court of Appeals is set to hear oral arguments this week. It's unclear when the court might issue a decision.

The lawsuits that involve Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto counties are paused until the appeal concludes.

A Summit spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article.

After Rose's decision in December, a Summit senior project manager, Kylie Lange, sent an email to an unspecified number of counties that said, in part: "It reinforces our position that local setbacks and safety standards cannot intrude upon the authority vested in federal and state agencies."

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