In late June 2024, the appointed three-person, Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) dealt a devastating blow to property rights in the state by granting the right of eminent domain to Summit Carbon Solutions for its planned CO2 pipeline. The Summit pipeline would transport carbon dioxide produced by ethanol plants to an underground storage facility in North Dakota, more than 2,000 miles away, crossing five states.
“Eminent domain” is a power of government at the local, state and federal levels that allows the seizure of private property for public use or the “public good,” with or without the owner’s consent, usually with compensation at a fair or market rate. Originally known by the Latin term Eminenes Dominium, eminent domain can be traced to 17th-century English common law. The U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment “taking clause” enables this government power.
In the recent unanimous IUB decision, it approved granting eminent domain, stating that the “public benefits of the project outweigh the private and public costs.” IUB members are appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. The three current IUB members are Erik M. Helland, Chair; Joshua J. Byrnes, Commissioner; and Sarah M. Martz, Commissioner. Helland and Martz began their terms on May 1, 2023. Byrnes was appointed on November 30, 2020. Some have said they were “hand-picked” to make the decision to grant eminent domain because of the administration’s ties to Summit Carbon Solutions.
Summit Leadership Has Close Ties to Iowa Administration
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) formerly served as Lieutenant Governor, succeeding Governor Terry Branstad in May 2017, when he became the Trump administration’s ambassador to China. In November 2018, Reynolds was elected to her first full term and then reelected in 2022.
According to an April 2022 article from Reuters:
“At least four members of Summit’s leadership have direct links to the Iowa governor’s office or the Iowa Utility Board (IUB), both of which could influence the future of the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) pipeline, according to the review. One is the top individual donor to governor Reynolds. Another is Branstad, who nominated two of the IUB’s three commissioners, including its chair.”
Reuters found that Bruce Rastetter, head of Summit’s parent company Summit Agricultural Group, donated nearly $150,000 to Reynolds between 2018 and 2022, according to records maintained by the National Institute on Money in Politics.
Further, Branstad has served as Summit’s senior policy advisor, and Summit’s lobbyists in Iowa have included Jake Ketzner, who was Reynolds’ former chief of staff, and Jeffrey Boeyink, who served as Branstad’s chief of staff.
Nancy Erikson, one Iowa landowner that would be affected, stated:
“We will continue working to preserve our land and protect all Iowans from hazardous CO2 pipelines. We will challenge this corrupt proposal through every legal and regulatory process available. But, today’s decision should be a warning to all Iowans: When we allow powerful, wealthy people to buy off our government officials, no one is safe.”
Landowner and Environmental Concerns Ignored
Robert Maguire, research director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, stated: “I would say there is a valid concern on the part of the (pipeline opponents) that they’re not getting equal treatment by the government.”
Several citizen groups oppose the proposed CO2 pipelines, and prior to the granting of eminent domain, most property owners that would be affected refused to give Summit the easements necessary for the pipeline to cross their property.
One submitted comment stated: “When you have a large number of landowners refusing to sign easements, that should send a loud message that this project is not wanted.” In fact, Reuters found 98.9 percent of comments in the Summit docket at IUB were in opposition to the pipeline.
Landowners are rightly concerned about a range of issues. Farm productivity and land values would, of course, be affected. Of greater concern is the potential danger of a CO2 pipeline rupture. In 2020, a CO2 pipeline ruptured in Satartia, Mississippi, forcing the evacuation of 200 people and sending 45 to the hospital.
Interestingly, farmers have found allies in environmental groups fighting the pipeline. Sierra Club Iowa Chapter’s Jess Mazour stated, “If they are listening to the people, it’s very clear that this pipeline shouldn’t be approved.” Emma Schmit from Pipeline Fighters Director at Bold Alliance stated:
“Iowans have successfully delayed this unwanted project from an out-of-touch, multibillion-dollar company, for years. They have endured through petty lawsuits, acts of intimidation, and the corruption of democracy – the Board’s unjust decision can hardly shake their resolve to stop this crooked scheme. The unconstitutional use of eminent domain to seize private land for the profit of a few C-suite executives will not go unchallenged. We will continue to stand strong and fight against this egregious overreach.”
Other States Could Be Iowan Landowners’ Solution
Part of the IUB’s decision did stipulate that Summit “shall not commence construction on any segment of pipe in Iowa until it has obtained agency approval for a route and sequestration site in North Dakota and an agency approval of a route in South Dakota.” This may very well give opponents of the pipeline the time they need to appeal and ultimately save thousands of acres of productive farmland, as well as the generational legacies that created them.
Even while Iowans may have lost one battle in their state, it will ultimately be the decisions from other states that determine the fate of the Summit pipeline. Both North and South Dakota denied Summit’s permit applications in 2023, but the company is revising its applications to reapply.
Subsidized “Green” Globalist Agenda
The Summit pipeline is only one of several CO2 pipelines that have been proposed in recent years. All of them have stemmed from the Biden administration’s adoption of the United Nations’ (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendation that nations must not only reduce CO2 emissions, but also capture and store CO2. Substantial tax-payer-funded subsidies have been made available to companies that pursue such goals, making the installation of unproven, unsafe “green” infrastructure irresistible.
Some CO2 pipeline projects, such as the Navigator CO2 project, have been canceled, largely due to opposition from citizens and landowners. Navigator officially cited the “unpredictable nature of regulatory and government processes involved.” Nevertheless, Navigator CO2 is believed to have already received millions of taxpayer dollars prior to the cancellation of its project.
The ongoing threat from the globalist “green” agenda to American private property rights, food production, and food security must be confronted at every level.
Read more from Protect The Harvest about CO2 pipelines HERE
Read more from Protect The Harvest about the dangers of eminent domain HERE
