LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- The North Dakota Public Service Commission unanimously approved a siting permit for the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions carbon pipeline project on Friday, giving the go-ahead on a 300-plus-mile segment of the project across five counties.
The commission's action comes 10 days after voters in neighboring South Dakota rejected a state law that would have dictated how counties regulate carbon pipelines in the state. The referendum known as Referred Law 21 challenged a law passed by state lawmakers earlier this year.
The South Dakota vote was seen as a setback for the company's plans to build a 2,000-mile carbon pipeline that would capture and ship carbon dioxide emissions from 57 ethanol plants.
Randy Christmann, chairman of the North Dakota PSC, said prior to the vote on Friday that he would hope the company chooses not to use eminent domain to acquire needed land for the project. The use of eminent domain has been a hot-button issue on the proposed project.
"I understand why so many landowners are so offended by the prospect of eminent domain, and I think I understand it better than most people because my family has lived it," Christmann said.
"When I was a young person growing up, it was abused against my family, and not for a pipeline that now we get the farm over or for a power line that now we get the farm under. I've had experience with those too."
He said his family had land taken as part of a highway project, and it was done without the builders "ever once stopping" to negotiate.
"I understand how offensive it is," Christmann said. "I also understand we wouldn't have big Interstate pipelines. We wouldn't have big power lines. You can almost always find one landowner for whom money is not an object, and so I understand that occasionally it's needed. But I damn sure understand it ought never be abused.
"If the PSC decides to approve the pipeline, it should encourage Summit not to use eminent domain. I certainly do encourage the company not to use eminent domain. At least not more than absolutely necessary. It is something that burdens families. For generations. Eminent domain should never be abused."
The North Dakota Public Service Commission held several public hearings leading up to the commission's vote.
Commissioner Sheri Haugen-Hoffart said prior to the vote the commission's role is "clearly" defined, and it is required to follow legal guidelines when considering projects.
"To the many community members and landowners who attended our hearings, thank you," she said. "Your participation brought critical information and insights, and I want to assure you that each concern raised, whether it was about public safety, property rights or the impacts of eminent domain, we carefully reviewed and weighed."
Haugen-Hoffart said she was confident in the system the state has established for regulating pipelines and other projects and that those pipelines are operating "safely and effectively."
"Thousands of miles of pipeline operate under strict state and federal regulations," she said. "Please know that state law provides protection, protection and legal remedies regarding the use of unfair tactics in acquiring land. Your rights are safeguarded, and resources are available should you choose. However, the core of this proceeding is Summit's petition for a sitting permit for a 332-mile CO2 pipeline across five North Dakota counties. As a commissioner, my duty is to evaluate this petition wholly on the basis of the legal criteria set forth."
In May 2024, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Summit Carbon Solutions has the right to enter private lands to conduct surveys and examinations in preparation for the construction of a segment of a Midwest carbon pipeline in the state. The ruling followed an appeal filed by a group of landowners.
As part of a lawsuit filed by Summit against property owners, a district court in North Dakota granted a motion for summary judgment to Summit to allow it to enter private lands in the state. A group of landowners appealed the ruling to the state's highest court.
The district court ruled the state's entry statute does not "constitute an unconstitutional per se taking" of land or property. The court also ruled Summit was a "common carrier" that is "authorized to exercise eminent domain."
Christmann said on Friday the commission's decision has nothing to do with whether Summit is a common carrier and is legally able to use eminent domain.
The ethanol industry is expected to play a large role as a feedstock provider in the production of sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, so long as the ethanol industry can improve its carbon intensity score. That's why carbon capture and storage are important.
Generally, carbon pipelines connected to ethanol plants are seen as the only viable way to reduce carbon emissions low enough to attract SAF producers to using ethanol as a feedstock.
There is potential for another wave of economic expansion in rural communities similar to the early days of the Renewable Fuel Standard starting in 2005 if ethanol producers can become part of the SAF expansion.
The proposed Summit pipeline continues to face regulatory hurdles before construction can begin.
The North Dakota landowners in the case argued that Summit entering their properties constituted an unconstitutional taking because it has "no limitations on assignment or transfer and this right does not expire."
The North Dakota Supreme Court said it disagreed with the argument, and no matter how the entry statute is read, the district court's judgment did not grant "perpetual authority" for Summit to enter private property.
Read more on DTN:
"Summit Carbon Wins at ND Supreme Court," https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com
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