Summit officials confirmed that Summit Carbon Solutions has purchased old easement contracts from a former competitor to accelerate its carbon pipeline construction project.

Summit’s former competitor Navigator CO2 attempted its own carbon dioxide pipeline project but withdrew in October 2023. With Navigator now out of the running, Summit has bought out many of Navigator’s old contracts to expand its service area and save time by not having to negotiate new contracts.

Summit received approval for its pipeline project in June from the Iowa Utilities Board, now the Iowa Utilities Commission. With the approval, Summit gained the right to force unwilling landowners into easement agreements through expropriation.

The proposed project plan calls for the construction of pipelines in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota to extract carbon dioxide from ethanol plants and transport it to underground reservoirs in North Dakota.

Obstacles to summit meetings remain

Iowa is the only state that has given Summit the green light so far. Before Summit begins construction in Iowa, the organization still has several hurdles to overcome.

The Iowa Utilities Commission is requiring Summit to resubmit several documents to receive a permit, and Summit is also still in the midst of litigation against Iowa counties that have tried to restrict pipeline construction.

In addition, Summit still needs approval from the states of South Dakota and North Dakota to build pipelines in Iowa.

Summit will also be prohibited from entering into new easement agreements with landowners until the organization holds legally required public information meetings in the affected counties.

Summit has released its schedule for 23 public information events about the project in 23 different counties in August and September. The times and locations of the events can be found here Here.

The Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental group, has pledged to fight Summit’s pipeline efforts. The group is currently working with affected landowners to fight the project.

“The public hearing period is our chance to tell the truth about carbon pipelines and the dangers they pose to our lands, our families and our communities,” the Sierra Club wrote on its website. “We also need to make sure affected landowners know they do NOT have to sign an easement.”

Summit could also face challenges in the state legislature. When Navigator wanted to connect pipelines from Iowa to Illinois, Illinois state lawmakers passed a two-year moratorium on new carbon dioxide pipelines.

In recent sessions, the Iowa House of Representatives has passed three relatively bipartisan bills that would limit or regulate the use of expropriation law for these projects. However, none of these bills managed to pass the Iowa Senate.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has expressed support for the benefits that carbon capture could have for Iowa agriculture, as long as landowners’ rights are taken into account.

On Thursday, after a tour of the Chevron Renewable Energy Group facility in Newton, Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks praised the pipelines as a way to support Iowa’s ethanol industry, but avoided taking a stand for or against the expropriation law, calling it a state, not federal, issue.

“I would say farmers and landowners need to look at the why and the reasons and then decide if it’s in their best interest,” Miller-Meeks said. “Companies that acquire easements are asking themselves, ‘How can they make the land intact again? How do they make sure farmers can grow crops in the near future? How can they time and restructure the land to return it to the condition it was in before they put the pipeline in?'”

Which agreements are purchased?

Summit does not buy every agreement Navigator makes, Summit spokeswoman Sabrina Zenor said. The easement agreements Navigator has made for its planned route have not always matched Summit’s route.

Some easement agreements in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and North Dakota have already been acquired. However, Zenor said the number of easement agreements acquired and the timing of when Summit will complete the purchase of the desired legacy Navigator agreements cannot yet be confirmed.

Summit has notified some landowners by letter that they have acquired the easement agreement.

“Summit has acquired rights-of-way previously held by Navigator CO2, including the option(s) you signed with Navigator CO2,” wrote Summit CEO Lee Blank in a letter to the landowners whose rights-of-way Summit acquired. “These options grant us rights-of-way along the expansion routes to the POET and Valero ethanol plants that were recently added to our project.”

Because the Iowa Utilities Commission declined to reconsider its permit, another lawsuit related to the pipeline project by landowners, environmental activists or Iowa counties is likely.