


The company behind an $8.9 billion carbon-capture pipeline proposed for five Midwestern states said Wednesday it wants to indefinitely delay its plans after South Dakota passed a law limiting its ability to acquire land for the project.
But even as it filed a motion to suspend its pipeline permit application timeline with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, the Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions said it remains committed to the pipeline.
Summit attorney Brett Koenecke said the action was needed because the legislation approved by South Dakota lawmakers and quickly signed into law by the governor changed the company’s ability to survey the route.
“The resulting delays in obtaining the surveys mean that the timelines involved in Commission action on this application are unrealistic,” Koenecke wrote in the motion. If the commission approves the motion, they can set a new deadline for the permit application.
The proposed 2,500-mile pipeline would carry carbon emissions from ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota to be stored underground permanently in North Dakota. By lowering carbon emissions from the plants, the pipeline would lower their carbon intensity scores and make them more competitive in the renewable fuels market.
The project had approvals in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota. But in South Dakota, a new law banned the use of eminent domain specifically for carbon-capture projects.