Companies would no longer be able to use eminent domain to appropriate privately owned land for carbon pipeline projects under a bill approved by the Iowa House on Wednesday. HF 2104 passed with bipartisan support, 64-28. Ten of the House’s 33 Democrats joined 54 of the chamber’s 67 Republicans in voting for the bill. “I […]
Pipeline
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Debates over property taxes, eminent domain and cancer rates expected during 2026 legislative session
Iowa lawmakers are heading into the 2026 legislative session with several new leaders — but many of the issues expected to take top priority are subjects left unresolved in 2025, namely eminent domain and property taxes. Lawmakers presented legislation on both of these issues during the 2025 legislative session, but neither became state law. Republican […]
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Iowans protest water quality issues outside of event with Gov. Reynolds
The sound of honking caused several heads to turn toward nearby Fleur Drive during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa at the historic Butler Mansion in Des Moines. A small crowd of protesters gathered outside of the Thursday event with signs decrying Iowa’s water quality, which incited the honks. The protesters […]
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Iowa House members agree to special session to override Reynolds’ veto of pipeline bill
The Iowa House of Representatives Tuesday secured the necessary two-thirds majority on a petition calling for a special session to override the governor’s veto of a bill pertaining to eminent domain and carbon sequestration pipelines. Seventy representatives signed the petition in favor of returning to the State Capitol to override the veto on HF 639, […]
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‘Spitting in the face of landowners’: Iowa House Republicans denounce Reynolds’ veto of eminent domain bill, call for special session to override it
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have rarely publicly disagreed with Gov. Kim Reynolds during her eight years in office. Even when they didn’t support her position on an issue, they would downplay any differences. That all changed on Wednesday, when Gov. Reynolds vetoed HF 639, a bill that would have added new requirements on projects […]
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Senate passes bill restricting eminent domain for carbon pipelines
Iowa senators voted 27-22 late Monday to pass a bill to limit the ability of carbon sequestration pipelines to use eminent domain, sending it to the governor’s desk after a drawn-out debate. The decision follows four years of urging from Iowans and House lawmakers for eminent domain reform in response to the proposed Summit Carbon […]
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Iowa House advances bill to block CO2 pipelines from eminent domain rights
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 […]
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Summit Carbon Solutions is threatening to sue pipeline opponents
Several opponents of the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions carbon sequestration pipeline have received letters on behalf of the company threatening lawsuits over perceived defamation, an environmental group representative said. Jess Mazour, a conservation program associate with the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, said in a press release Thursday she received a letter from the company, “threatening […]
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Iowa Utilities Commission issues pipeline permit for Summit Carbon Solutions
The Iowa Utilities Commission has issued a construction permit for Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed hazardous liquid pipeline across Iowa. The commission’s decision on Wednesday was not unexpected given a June 25 order in which the panel issued a final decision approving the project while requiring Summit Carbon to submit numerous filings demonstrating compliance with regulatory […]
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Iowa Utilities Board approves permit for controversial Summit pipeline
The Iowa Utilities Board gave its approval Tuesday for the controversial Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, and for the company to use eminent domain to acquire landowners’ property. The company hopes to begin construction next year with the goal of making the pipeline operational in 2026. The pipeline, which would be the largest of its kind […]
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Pipeline opponents seek procedural halt in Iowa after North Dakota decision
State regulators should postpone a final hearing for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa because North Dakota rejected the project route, opponents of the pipeline say. The Sierra Club of Iowa and landowners have asked the Iowa Utilities Board to pause the permit proceedings for Summit Carbon Solutions. Its evidentiary hearing is poised to […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Protesters disrupt carbon capture conference in Des Moines, face close call with SUV
About 100 people marched from Cowles Commons through the streets of Des Moines to the Iowa Events Center on Wednesday to protest the National Carbon Capture Conference and Expo. The expo featured speakers from Summit Carbon Solutions, Wolf Carbon Solutions, and Navigator CO2: the three companies who have submitted proposals and/or applied for permits to […]
