A bill that could affect carbon capture pipelines in Iowa is on Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk. It remains to be seen whether she'll sign it.
WATCH KATRINA'S STORY HERE
- CO2 is a byproduct of ethanol production. Capturing the CO2 and burying it underground improves the carbon index score of the ethanol, qualifying it for more products such as sustainable aviation fuel.
- Rep. Steven Holt from Denison has championed restricting carbon capture pipelines. He says it ultimately comes down to property rights.
- Monte Shaw is the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association. He said that this bill could make it harder for pipeline companies that aren't using eminent domain. Shaw said the SIRE ethanol plant in Council Bluffs, which has 100% voluntary participation from landowners, could also be limited by this bill.
- Sherri Webb's family owns land in the path of the proposed Summit pipeline: “The idea that they want to put a pipeline through that land which would cause more erosion than anything — especially after decades of no-till — just really bothers me.”
- LEARN MORE |Iowa Senate passes bill restricting eminent domain for carbon pipelines
- RELATED | 'They value landowner rights': South Dakota law could slow progress of CO2 pipelines in Iowa
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
I'm Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
Property rights, the ethanol market, and carbon capture pipelines are pressing issues for Iowa landowners, and they don’t all agree.
Now neighbors wait to see if the governor will sign a bill that would restrict the use of carbon capture pipelines by the ethanol industry.
What’s interesting here is that the bill isn’t explicitly about banning eminent domain.
It’s a multi-faceted bill. A key feature: re-defining what counts as a common carrier pipeline — or a pipeline with a public use.
Rep. Steven Holt from Denison has championed restricting carbon capture pipelines.
Katrina Markel: “Why was it important to you?”
Holt: “Well, number one I love the constitution. I think the protections in the constitution are of extreme importance. George Washington said, many years ago, that freedom and property rights are inseparable.”
The bill also sets a high bar for insurance requirements for the pipelines.
Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, says it would make the pipelines prohibitively expensive: “It’s a really crappy bill.”
Shaw says landowners who favor the pipelines see the potential for boosting corn ethanol markets.
“I also grew up in Shenandoah during the 1980s farm crisis and I remember how horrible that was, so I get pretty passionate when we have markets, that could drive corn prices for the next 30 years, within our grasp,” Shaw said.
“My sisters and my brother and I have talked about this over and over, and it’s not the money,” said Sherri Webb.
Her family owns land in the planned path of the Summit pipeline. She has been a vocal opponent.
Webb: “The idea that they want to put a pipeline through that land which would cause more erosion than anything — especially after decades of no-till — just really bothers me.”
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association believes the bill could also sideline projects with 100% voluntary participation, including one in Council Bluffs.
