Summit One Step Closer to Pipeline Construction with North Dakota Permit

By Cami Koons

Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline route was approved Friday morning in North Dakota, bringing the company one step closer to meeting conditions set by the Iowa Utilities Commission to begin construction. 

The carbon pipeline would stretch across five states with over 2,000 miles of pipeline, to transport carbon dioxide from nearly 60 ethanol refineries to underground storage.

The Iowa Utilities Commission approved Summit’s permit in June for over 600 miles of pipeline in the state, and granted the company eminent domain. The commission stipulated the company must secure permits in both North Dakota and South Dakota before it could begin construction in Iowa. 

North Dakota’s Public Service Commission had previously denied Summit’s permits in the state, but after the company made some modifications to the plan, the commission unanimously approved the permit on Friday. 

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said, in a statement, it was “encouraged” by the decision. 

“In agriculture, if you’re not growing, you’re dying. On the heels of approval in Iowa, today’s permit approval in North Dakota is a crucial step in making sure this vital project comes to fruition,” the association’s Executive Director Monte Shaw said in a statement. 

Shaw urged all parties to “come together” to move forward with the project. 

“The biggest opportunities to grow corn demand all have one thing in common — super low carbon ethanol,” he said. “Capturing and sequestering CO2 is the ‘easy button’ to lower carbon.” 

Summit Carbon Solutions is seeking an additional permit in its home state of Iowa for a second phase of the project that would connect to 17 more biorefineries in Iowa and bring the total Iowa pipeline footprint to over 1,000 miles. 

Ava Auen-Ryan, an organizer with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, said the longstanding Iowa group that has organized against the pipeline, was disappointed with North Dakota’s decision. 

“It’s disappointing to continue to see state regulators put Summit’s profit driven project before the health and safety of our communities and our environment,” Auen-Ryan said in a statement.

South Dakota, who has not yet approved a permit for the pipeline, voted against a law in the General Election that opponents say would have benefitted carbon pipeline companies. 

Auen-Ryan said South Dakotans’ vote showed that “everyday people do not want this CO2 pipeline.” 

“Sustained public pressure has stalled the project to this point,” Auen-Ryan said. “CCI members and Iowans across the state will continue to fight back against Summit and have no intention of slowing down now.” 

The pipeline would carry liquid carbon-dioxide to underground storage west of Bismarck, North Dakota, for which Summit still needs a storage permit. 

Tom Buis, CEO of American Carbon Alliance, an Iowa-based group advocating for ethanol production and carbon capture pipelines, applauded the North Dakota decision in a statement.

“The project is crucial for America’s energy security, restoring profitability to farmers, creating jobs in rural communities, and producing next-generation biofuels,” Buis said. 

The commission in North Dakota approved the route for the Summit pipeline, but did not grant the company eminent domain. Common carrier status of the pipeline is still being disputed.

Opponents of the pipeline leaned into this fact in their statements about the North Dakota news. 

Brian Jorde, an attorney for North Dakota and Iowa landowners opposed to the pipeline said to “stay tuned,” in a statement with BOLD Alliance. 

“The PSC did not determine Summit is a common carrier and did not determine if Summit is able to use eminent domain,” Jorde said. “Those questions are likely also headed to the courts.”

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