Steve King says Summit threatened him for anti-pipeline speech

Former Congressman Steve King said he received a letter from Summit Carbon Solutions that demanded he refrain from making false statements about the company and its proposed carbon dioxide pipeline system.

The conservative firebrand is among at least six people who were recipients of Summit's cease and desist letters in the past month.

At least one of the allegedly defamatory statements dates back to last year, and it's unclear why the company is threatening legal action now. A Summit spokesperson did not respond to a request to comment about the matter.

"These are just simply threats that say, 'Shut up or we'll sue you because we don't like the truth and what it does to damage our business model,'" King told radio host Jeff Stein on the Eastern Iowa KXEL radio station Friday.

King did not mention what specific comments of his the letter targeted but said it will not deter him from speaking against the company's proposed five-state pipeline system. The system would transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to North Dakota for underground storage.

Indeed, King spent most of his airtime Friday lambasting the project as "the biggest boondoggle the world has ever seen." He said it would wrongly be funded by billions of dollars of federal tax incentives for carbon sequestration and the production of low-carbon fuels, and would erode landowners' rights if allowed to use eminent domain to force people to host the pipe.

"Why do they think that somebody who has faced as much criticism as I have is going to be intimidated by a silly letter?" King said.

King was a longtime congressman who represented conservative northwest Iowa and was known for making inflammatory remarks that drew the ire of liberals. But some of those comments eventually led House Republicans to strip him of his committee assignments, and Congressman Randy Feenstra defeated him in a 2020 primary.

In the Friday radio interview, King criticized Summit's cofounder, Bruce Rastetter, for allegedly using his political connections and wealth to get the project approved.

King also sought to link Erik Helland — the chairperson of the Iowa Utilities Commission that approved a permit for the project — to the company because he started a business in Alaska with a similar name. State records show Helland formed 49th Summit Solutions in 2016 and that the company offered Medicaid mediation services.

Five other people have received letters that claim their statements against Summit's project "exposed you to significant legal liability," King said.

The Gazette has confirmed these five other recipients: Jess Mazour, of the Sierra Club of Iowa; Trent Loos, a Nebraska farmer and podcaster; Barb Kalbach and Tom Mohan, of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement; and Robert Nazario, who with King is part of the Free Soil Foundation.

The letter Nazario received — which he provided to The Gazette — includes a newspaper quote from Nazario about the potential for carbon dioxide plumes to kill people.

"There is no proof that Summit Carbon Solutions' pipeline — or any CO2 pipeline — has ever caused death," the letter says.

At least two of the anti-Summit statements that were a subject of the letters were published by the Iowa Information newspaper group. The company's president, Jeff Wagner, said Summit has not complained to him about the quotations.

Summit's letters demand that their recipients retract the statements and "refrain from making false and defamatory statements about Summit Carbon Solutions." The letters threaten "alternative legal remedies" and allude to lawsuits.

The company has obtained route permits in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota. Summit has reapplied for a permit in South Dakota, which rejected its initial proposal last year.

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