DES MOINES — Iowa House lawmakers passed their latest measure to rein in eminent domain use for carbon capture pipelines on Thursday, passing a bill that would allow individuals or companies to ask a court to review whether eminent domain is warranted in a pending pipeline case.
The bill’s supporters said it would expand the rights of landowners and clear up constitutional questions about the eminent domain authority for hazardous liquid pipelines.
The bill came out of opposition to the construction of pipelines proposed in the state that would capture carbon dioxide emitted at ethanol plants and store it underground, taking advantage of lucrative tax credits for carbon reduction.
Summit Carbon Solutions, the company furthest along in the process, is awaiting a decision from the Iowa Utilities Board on its permit application for a pipeline involving five states, including more than 700 miles in Iowa. Summit has asked for eminent domain authority to take land along the route where it has not obtained voluntary easements. Wolf Carbon Solutions is proposing a much smaller pipeline in eastern Iowa, and the company has said it does not plan to use eminent domain for its construction.
House File 2664 would allow a landowner or a company applying for a permit from the Iowa Utilities Board, to ask a court to review whether eminent domain is warranted in the situation.
The bill passed in the House 86-7. All present Democrats voted in favor, and seven Republicans voted no. Republican Rep. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, whose family owns land along the Summit pipeline’s route, recused herself.
Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City, the bill’s floor manager, said there was a legitimate legal question about whether eminent domain was allowed for the projects. He said the bill would allow the questions over eminent domain to be cleared up without a lengthy legal process after the IUB decision.
“Instead of having everything in suspense, waiting for the IUB to finish doing its job, this bill permits any affected party, including Summit, or any pipeline proponent, to file for declaratory action to get a ruling on the constitutionality of the question at hand,” Thomson said.
The bill would also allow a person or group to ask a court to review an IUB’s approval or denial of a pipeline permit request without paying a bond.
House lawmakers have taken measures the past two years attempting to slow the construction of the pipelines, passing bills that would set a moratorium on new CO2 pipeline projects and require companies to obtain 90% of the route voluntarily before receiving eminent domain authority. Both of those measures failed to pass the Senate, where there is less appetite among majority Republicans to regulate the projects.
Spokespeople for Summit and Wolf did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Summit is registered against the bill.
Landowners and environmental advocates have been at the Capitol weekly this year, hoping to encourage lawmakers to take more action restricting eminent domain for the projects.
Jess Mazour, the conservation program coordinator for the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, said in a statement on Thursday that the bill would level the playing field for landowners.
"We've been at the capitol every single week for three years. It's time the Senate gets its priorities straight and quit kowtowing to Summit, Wolf, and (Summit CEO) Bruce Rastetter,” Mazour said.
Supporters of the projects, including the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and other agriculture groups, have said they are vital to Iowa agriculture's continued success as more states and countries demand low-carbon fuels.
In an appearance on Iowa Press last week, Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, said he was not sure whether the bill would come up in the Senate. Dawson is chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
“I think it's a unique way going about it, maybe, compared to some proposals last year, and it's no doubt a priority for people in the House, as well as some people in the Senate too,” he said. “…I think it's definitely something to take a look at.”
Public meeting about Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline
Landowners and environmentalists protest Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at the Iowa Capitol as part of rally urging lawmakers to pass legislation to address growing concerns about safety and the use of eminent domain for proposed carbon capture pipelines.
A semi owned by Ted and Kim Junker, who farm in Grundy County in northeast Iowa, is parked near an anti-carbon pipeline rally on March 22 at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines. The House approved restrictions on pipeline companies using eminent domain to gain easements, but the Senate did not take up the issue.