The Iowa House Judiciary Committee advanced bills Thursday to block hazardous liquid pipelines carrying carbon dioxide from the use of eminent domain.
Two bills also advanced granting rights to intervene in Iowa Utilities Commission proceedings, which GOP lawmakers have done against the case of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project.
HSB 287 specifies that the “construction of hazardous liquid pipelines for the transportation or transmission of liquefied carbon dioxide” does not constitute a public use for the purpose of condemning agricultural land.
The bill would apply to any condemnation proceedings made on or after its enactment.
Committee members voted to advance HSB 287. A companion bill in the Senate, SF 92, has not had any scheduled hearings and will likely be “dead” at the end of the funnel week
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a similar bill into law Thursday morning, that effectively bans the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. South Dakota is also on the proposed route for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project, which would transport sequestered carbon dioxide from biofuel refineries to underground storage in North Dakota.
Rhoden said the new law is not meant to “kill” the project in South Dakota, but should be taken as “an opportunity for a needed reset.”
Summit Carbon Solutions said in a statement the news is “very unfortunate” but “the project moves forward in states that support investment and innovation.”
HF 491 would also restrict hazardous liquid pipelines from the right of eminent domain, by adjusting the definition of a common carrier.
Under the bill, a hazardous liquid pipeline would have to establish “clear and convincing evidence” that it transports a commodity used by an individual consumer, or a commodity for one or more shippers not affiliated with the carrier who will also not sell the hazardous liquid to the carrier.
Rep. Charley Thomson, said the bill “corrects a problem that emerged because of the Summit pipeline docket hearings in front of the Iowa Utilities Commission.”
Summit’s status as a common carrier has been a subject in several lawsuits, including one in which the Iowa Supreme Court reiterated that the company meets the requirements of a pipeline under Iowa Code.
The bill advanced 20-1, and Thomson said there will be an amendment on the floor to clarify that the bill does not apply to railroads.
Intervenor bills
Thomson and House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Steven Holt are part of a large group of GOP lawmakers who have intervened against the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project. Holt and Thompson also pushed forward legislation last year to restrict eminent domain, but the bills did not gain necessary momentum in the Senate.
HF 610 would allow members of the General Assembly, county and city elected officials and Iowans with “minimally plausible interest” to intervene in an Iowa Utilities Commission proceeding.
HF 237 would prohibit the IUC from “threatening or imposing sanctions” on an intervenor unless they were intentionally dishonest or violated a criminal statute that caused injury to the commission in excess of $500.
Both bills advanced from committee with votes of 20-1.
Cami Koons covers agriculture and the environment for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this story first appeared.
