(Manchester, IA) — Surveyors who were hired by a company that wants to build a carbon capture pipeline across Iowa are running into opposition when they try to gain access to some properties in northeast Iowa. Delaware County Supervisor Shirley Helmrichs says at least 18 property owners or residents called the sheriff’s office last week with complaints about survey crews trespassing on their land — but their claims had to be rejected because state law allows the surveyors to access private property. Helmrichs says most residents she’s heard from are barring the pipeline surveyors from entering their property, forcing them to get injunctions from the local court before they can return. Navigator C-O-2 proposes building a pipeline under miles of farmland from the Dyersville ethanol plant west through the county, just north of Earlville and Manchester and into Buchanan County, along with several other counties in the state. Landowners are voicing concerns over eminent domain, loss of quality farmland, the mission of this project, and safety.
