War with Summit Carbon Solutions far from over

On June 25, the Iowa Utilities Board announced its decision regarding the Summit CO2 pipeline project. It has been misreported in numerous media outlets that the Iowa Utilities Board "approved the permit" for Summit. They did not. What they did was a "Final Decision and Order," which did — sort of — approve the application, but they did not give Summit a green light to proceed. There are a number of conditions that Summit must meet first.

Summit cannot proceed with any construction in Iowa until and if it receives permits for routes in both South Dakota and North Dakota, and permit for a burial site in North Dakota. With over 850 parcels in Iowa potentially subject to eminent domain, Summit is also tasked with attempting to "negotiate" with those landowners (so landowners, beware; Summit's sales people will be pushing you hard.)

For now, at least eight entities are filing a "Motion for Reconsideration," then the Iowa Utilities Board (now IUC) has 30 days to respond. It is unlikely they will change anything in their "Decision and Order," so this will move into the Iowa court system for appeal and action.

So the media reports need to be corrected: the Iowa Utilities Board did NOT grant a permit to Summit Carbon Solutions. The war continues.

Kathy Carter

Rockford