The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has rejected Summit Carbon Solutions’ plan to extend the company’s pending state permit application process for a proposed CO2 pipeline that would cross Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.
Summit Carbon Solutions had been planning to capture CO2 from the fermentation process of biorefineries, such as ethanol plants, compress the gas, and channel it to North Dakota where it would be permanently and safely stored underground in deep geologic storage locations.
Ed Fischbach, a vocal landowner opponent, Dakota Rural Action board member and South Dakota Easement Team member, said, “Today is a victory for South Dakota landowners and local control. In denying Summit’s permit application, the PUC has acknowledged that the company has run out of road to build this pipeline.”
Summit Carbon Solutions has yet to comment. It maintains there are 5,300 miles of CO2 pipelines that have been operating safely in the US for years.
Last month, the company responded to the signing of South Dakota’s HB 1052 into law, which ‘prohibits the exercise of eminent domain for a pipeline that carries carbon oxide’.
“It’s very unfortunate that, despite our approvals in Iowa, North Dakota, and Minnesota, South Dakota changed the rules in the middle of the game,” it said.
“This kind of regulatory uncertainty creates real challenges – not just for our project, but for the ethanol plants in South Dakota that now face a competitive disadvantage compared to their counterparts in neighbouring states.
“While this presents obstacles, our project moves forward in states that support investment and innovation.”
