Two Lawsuits Consolidated in Case Against Carbon Pipeline Project

Landowners in North Dakota have now joined a second group in a lawsuit against Summit Carbon Solutions, an Ames, Iowa-based pipeline company proposing a 2500-mile pipeline across North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Minnesota. 

The pipeline would capture and transport carbon dioxide from 57 ethanol plants and eventually store it underground in North Dakota. Some landowners along the pipeline’s path voluntarily signed access agreements with the company. But others have fought it and don’t want to grant access to their property.

The company has maintained that the pipeline will help ethanol producers better compete in the low-carbon fuel market. Summit would then receive federal tax credits, potentially billions of dollars, as it works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The landowner suit is now combined with another one led by Burleigh County, according to the North Dakota Monitor. Landowners are challenging the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s approval of permanent underground storage permits the project.

The other suit challenges a North Dakota Public Service Commission ruling that stated that state zoning laws trump county zoning ordinances for pipelines. The suit also contends that the agency did not give enough consideration for the residents’ safety along the pipeline route.

RELATED: South Dakota’s governor dealt this significant setback to the pipeline project and its use of eminent domain on land owners’ property.