Navigator seeks condemnation powers for its CO2 pipeline

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Navigator Heartland Greenway has not yet filed with the Iowa Utilities Board descriptions of the land that may be subject to eminent domain if the board grants it that authority.

Navigator Heartland Greenway this week became the second developer of a carbon dioxide sequestration pipeline to ask Iowa regulars to allow it to use eminent domain to force landowners to sell it easements for the underground hazardous pipeline route.

In a filing Tuesday with the three-member Iowa Utilities Board, Navigator asked for a permit to build its C02 pipeline, which would generally stretch from Northwest to Southeast Iowa for 811 miles along its 1,300-mile route across five states.

Early this year, another CO2 pipeline developer — Summit Carbon Solutions — also asked regulators to allow it to use eminent domain to build its pipeline through 30 Iowa counties in Northern and Western Iowa, according to its permit application.

A third CO2 pipeline developer, Wolf Carbon Solutions, has said it does not want to use eminent domain to force landowners to grant easements, and the company hasn’t used condemnation on past projects. It has not, however, filed its application for a permit with the utilities board. Wolf is proposing to transport carbon dioxide from ADM plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to a sequestration site near Decatur, Ill.

Navigator told regulators that “It is uncertain at this time whether and to what extent the right of eminent domain will be required.” The company has not yet submitted a list to the board showing the description of the lands in question.

An earlier proposal from Navigator showed the pipeline coming through Linn County, but that plan has been dropped. The proposed route now includes: Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Cherokee, Clay, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Emmet, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Lyon, Mahaska, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Story, Van Buren, Wapello, Webster and Woodbury counties.

In its application to regulators, Navigator said it and its affiliates have “secured agreements with 20 ethanol producers and one fertilizer facility” along the project footprint, which includes Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. It said the route will transport “approximately 10 million metric tons” a year of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that worsens climate change.

Developers of CO2 pipelines stand to get billions of dollars in tax subsidies.

Navigator said approval of its pipeline not only would have environmental benefits, it would strengthen the ethanol and fertilizer industries and help agriculture.

“The ethanol industry supports approximately 407,000 jobs in the United States each year, including approximately 39,000 jobs in Iowa,” the application states. “The fertilizer industry supports approximately 487,000 jobs in the United States each year, including approximately 32,000 jobs in Iowa.”

It adds: “CO2 reduction by ethanol producers is crucial to the long-term survival and success of the industry, and projects like the Heartland Greenway Pipeline System are key to such facilities being able to produce a reduced-carbon intensity and, eventually, a carbon-neutral product to meet the demands of the market.”

Navigator also noted that “strong and durable ethanol and fertilizer plants benefit farmers. The ethanol industry is the largest purchaser of Iowa corn, consuming approximately 57 percent of Iowa’s corn crop each year.”

In a questionnaire sent to Eastern Iowa candidates for the Iowa Legislature by The Gazette, a majority of those who responded said the Iowa Utilities Board should not approve the use of eminent domain for the companies.

Of 29 Eastern Iowa candidates for Iowa House or Senate who did respond, 21 said they did not think the board should grant eminent domain rights for the pipelines.

Iowa law gives the Iowa Utilities Board authority to allow eminent domain for things like electric transmission lines and underground pipelines. To be granted this power, municipal governments or private companies must show their projects serve a public use. If the power of eminent domain is granted, a county compensation commission determines fair market value for the properties.