Iowa House bill proposes high hurdles for CO2 pipelines

DES MOINES — Twenty-two Iowa House lawmakers including Speaker Pat Grassley proposed Thursday enacting legal hurdles that a carbon dioxide capture pipeline would have to clear before being approved in the state.

The proposed GOP legislation, to be unveiled Monday, joins efforts in the Iowa Senate by a Republican lawmaker from Sioux Center to regulate CO2 pipelines, which renewable fuel advocates say are essential to the survival of the state’ ethanol industry.

The House bill would require pipeline companies to obtain 90 percent of the miles along their proposed route through voluntary easements before being granted eminent domain authority to acquire easements from unwilling landowners.

The measure also would block the Iowa Utilities Board from granting a permit to a pipeline company until a federal regulator has laid out new safety guidelines for carbon pipelines — which could be a year or more from now.

The proposed bill looks to address concerns from landowners along the more than 1,500 miles of carbon dioxide pipeline that three companies have proposed in the state. One of the three, Wolf Carbon Solutions, which proposes to build in Linn County, has said it does not intend to use eminent domain to force the sale of land.

Other provisions in the bill include:

Speaking with reporters Thursday, Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, said the inspiration for the bill comes from opposition to using eminent domain to build the privately-owned projects. Holt said eminent domain should be used only for “essential government services.”

The 90 percent threshold was established in part on recommendation from the Iowa Farm Bureau, Holt said, and because it’s a number he thinks House Republicans can support.

“I have an issue with other people’s property being taken for what is an economic development project, and I think that’s where we confuse public use for public benefit,” he said.

Last year, the House passed a bill that put a one-year pause on new permits for the projects, but the proposal failed in the Senate.

Landowners and activists who oppose the use of eminent domain have been asking lawmakers to pass a stronger measure that would remove the power of eminent domain entirely from CO2 pipelines. Jess Mazour, conservation program coordinator for the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, said she thinks the 90 percent threshold does not go far enough.

“I’m glad that they are taking it seriously, but we really need to have the strongest thing possible, not just put a Band-Aid on it,” she said.

She also would like to see the limit at 90 percent of parcels, rather than miles, so that smaller landowners aren’t disadvantaged.

Democrats have said they would support legislation that bolsters landowner rights and ensures pipelines are safe.

“We’re going to want to look at any piece of legislation to see that landowner rights are protected, to make sure that people have a say in how their land is used and that if we're using eminent domain, public good is a part of that conversation,” House Democratic leader Jennifer Konfrst said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds did not say whether she would support or oppose the measure.

“I’m sure there’s areas where we can tweak and make it better, but we just need to make sure that we’re having an open and honest conversation about what the consequences could be moving forward,” Reynolds said.

Three proposed pipeline projects are in the process of requesting approval from the Iowa Utilities Board. Summit Carbon Solutions’ Midwest Carbon Express would build 680 miles of pipeline concentrated in the northern and western parts of the state. Wolf Carbon Solutions’ pipeline would cover four counties in Eastern Iowa. Navigator CO2 Ventures’ Heartland Greenway would stretch for 900 miles from the northwest to the southeast corner of the state, with offshoots along the way.

The pipelines will shuttle carbon dioxide emitted from ethanol plants to reservoirs deep underground in other states in order to meet certain low-carbon standards, take advantage of federal tax credits and improve the profitability of Iowa’s ethanol industry.

In a statement, Summit spokesperson Jesse Harris said the company has received voluntary easements from 1,075 Iowa landowners along the route, accounting for 67 percent of the proposed route. Harris said the ethanol industry would lose $10 billion a year without the projects.

“A full two years after we announced our carbon capture project, we remain hopeful that (the) legislature will not change the regulatory rules in the middle of the game, particularly with the overwhelming level of support we have among Iowa landowners,” he said.

In the Senate, Sen. Jeff Taylor, R-Sioux Center, has introduced a flurry of bills regulating CO2 pipelines, including Senate File 104, which would also requires pipeline companies to have 90 percent of easements granted voluntarily before using eminent domain.

In the House, Rep. Tom Jeneary, R-Le Mars, has also introduced CO2 pipeline legislation.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, sets safety standards for CO2 pipelines. The agency is in the process of reviewing its rules in response to a pipeline burst in Satartia, Miss.

Those rules likely won’t be ready for at least a year, and Holt said he wants to hold off on permitting new projects until they are finalized.

“Our understanding is that there are new safety guidelines coming out within the next 12 to 18 months, and so we’re concerned about waiting until those new safety guidelines come out, based upon some of the things that have happened recently with the pipelines,” Holt said.