(Des Moines) The Iowa Supreme Court is reviewing a case involving Summit Carbon Solutions. The case involves using eminent domain to survey private land for a carbon dioxide pipeline.
Landowner Kent Kasischke argues that the company entering his property without proper notice is unconstitutional, while Summit claims eminent domain rights allow access for surveying. The court’s decision will determine if the company can continue its surveys or face an injunction restricting access to Kasischke’s land. A ruling has not yet been issued. This case is one of several legal challenges related to the Summit Carbon Capture Pipeline.
The Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline proposes to partner with ethanol plants across Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The idea is to capture carbon dioxide from the fermentation process of ethanol plants and send it via underground pipelines to an underground storage facility in North Dakota.
The original plan for Summit Carbon Solutions was to install a network of 690 miles of pipe; however, when another company abandoned plans for a similar project, Summit Carbon Solutions proposed an expansion of another 340 miles in the state.