Navigator pulls plug on Iowa CO2 pipeline

Navigator Heartland Greenway announced Friday it will cancel its carbon dioxide pipeline through Iowa, citing the “unpredictable” regulation and approval process in Iowa and South Dakota.

“As good stewards of capital and responsible managers of people, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Heartland Greenway project,” Navigator Chief Executive Officer Matt Vining said in a statement. “We are disappointed that we will not be able to provide services to our customers and thank them for their continued support.”

Navigator’s 1,300-mile proposed pipeline would have picked up CO2 at ethanol plants in South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois before sequestering the compressed gas deep underground in central Illinois.

The company put the project on hold last month, saying it would provide an update by March.

One of three proposed CO2 pipelines to go through Iowa, Navigator asked the Iowa Utilities Board to grant rights of eminent domain so it could force easements where landowners did not want to sell. But evidentiary hearings on its application in Iowa had not started.

While many landowners signed easements voluntarily, others have protested the pipelines at public meetings, before the Iowa Legislature and at rallies. The vocal dissent wasn’t given as the reason for Navigator’s pull out.

“The development of Navigator CO2’s pipeline project has been challenging,” a news release said. “Given the unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa, the Company has decided to cancel its pipeline project.”

Earlier this month, South Dakota denied Navigator’s permit application to route part of the CO2 pipeline through the state, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.

South Dakota regulators also unanimously denied a permit request from Summit Carbon Solutions, which is proposing a 2,000-mile pipeline across Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota. The Iowa Utilities Board is in the midst of a multiweek hearing over Summit’s application.

Summit announced this week its pipeline wouldn’t be operational until 2026. The previous date had been in 2024, the Dispatch reported.

A third proposed pipeline, by Wolf Carbon Solutions, would pick up CO2 at ADM’s plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton before going to a sequestration site in Illinois. Wolf has not applied to use eminent domain.

‘We won’

Environmental groups and landowners that have fought the pipeline projects celebrated Navigator’s pull out.

“It’s very rare for people of so many different backgrounds and beliefs to stand together against something. We did and we won,” Kim Junker, a Grundy County farmer, said in a prepared statement.

“It was clear from the start that despite their (pipeline companies’) billions of dollars, the power of everyday people would overcome these pipeline scams. But the fight isn’t over, we need to remain vigilant and pass laws to make sure no other private corporation can threaten our land and our legacy again.”

‘Disinformation’

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, which has pushed for carbon capture and sequestration as a way to help ethanol plants survive as more Americans buy electric vehicles, complained about “disinformation that has been spread among the public and the regulators across multiple states.”

“That does not happen by accident,” association Executive Director Monte Shaw said in a statement. “Rather, it is being pushed by groups who oppose modern agriculture and whose stated mission is to destroy farming as we know it.”

Shaw said he respects Navigator’s decision, but the Renewable Fuels Association will continue to support other CO2 projects, “and we expect ultimate success.”

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