County GOP, Dems to host CO2 pipeline meeting

County GOP, Dems to host CO2 pipeline meeting

By Rebecca Peter

County Republicans and Democrats don’t always see eye to eye on every issue. But they appear to be united in opposition to the proposed CO2 pipeline for Hancock County.

Hancock County Republican Central committee and Hancock County Democratic Central Committee are hosting an information meeting on Saturday, Jan. 14 starting at 10 a.m. at the Duncan Community Center.

Approximately 34 miles of the proposed multi-state Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline will run through Hancock County, if approved by the Iowa Utilities Board.

According to Hancock County GOP Chairman Bud Jermaland, there will be speakers on pipeline rupture, eminent domain, EMS worker safety, easements, CO2 shortages, tile line disruptions and true ownership players.

Summit Carbon Solutions is partnering with 32 ethanol plants across five states to develop the largest carbon capture, transportation and storage project in the world.

The project aims to capture and compress carbon dioxide from these ethanol plants and channel it to deep underground storage locations in North Dakota where it will be permanently stored.

. He said Hancock County Republicans “are pleased that the Hancock County Democrats have united with us in expressing their opposition to the CO2 pipeline project.”

In December, Hancock County GOP Central Committee filed a letter with the Iowa Utilities Board objecting to the pipeline for the following reasons:

•Potential use of eminent domain by a private company for a non-government project.

•Increased burden on EMS services 

•CO2 is already a marketable product

•Potential disruption to drainage systems.

“This is not just an ordinary pipeline. CO2 is colorless and odorless and if a pipeline rupture would occur, it stays low to the ground and makes it very difficult or near impossible to breathe,” said Jermaland in a written statement. “It also disables vehicles due to lack of oxygen, making escaping on foot or electric vehicles your only means of escape. In high concentrations, death occurs as early as 4 minutes. It can travel for miles, seeking the lowest ground level it can find.” 

Jermaland cited a case where in 2020, a CO2 pipeline ruptured near Sararita, Mississippi, almost two miles away from the rupture. 

According to news reports, nearly 200 residents were evacuated from the area and 45 persons sought medical attention.

Jermaland continued, “Besides the danger, the general public will get no benefit from this pipeline. It is privately owned but will reap huge tax dollars for carbon credits for its owners. We think this is a poor and unnecessary use of government funds. Especially when CO2 can be captured and used for other usable products onsite or shipped on railcars to existing buyers of it, as is presently happening.”

 “Some area landowners do not want this to come across their property,” he noted. “Eminent domain may have to be used to gain access to allow that. Eminent domain is to be used for public projects only, not for private projects. It violates the use of eminent domain as stated in the 5th Amendment. This sets a new precedent in Iowa. We strongly oppose its use here.”

Ryan Arndorfer is chair of the Hancock County Democratic Central Committee. “We’ve been talking about this the last year at Hancock County Democratic meetings,” said Arndorfer. He said Democrats have three main concerns.

“The first one is the intention of eminent domain if they don’t get all the landowners to sign off. In our opinion and the opinion of most of the attorneys in the State of Iowa who looked at this issue, there’s no public purpose for this project.”

“The second, it really is a potential safety issue. We’re looking at the fact that our EMS, fire and police departments aren’t equipped for the possible emergency situations that could arise. With our hospital being located here in Britt, it puts a huge strain on them to try to deal with that kind of situation as well.”

Arndorfer concluded, “The third thing, from our perspective, is this is just another instance of wealthy people trying to claim federal tax credits by using moving CO2 from ethanol plants in Iowa to store underground somewhere.”