Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, introduced a bill he said will mostly eliminate the need to use eminent domain for hazardous liquid pipelines, including carbon pipelines.
The bill would widen the corridor for a proposed pipeline route, giving companies more flexibility to go around landowners who aren’t willing to sell part of their land. Klimesh said a pipeline company would have to prove it did everything possible to only use voluntary easements before asking state regulators for eminent domain powers.
He said the bill puts landowners in the driver’s seat, while ensuring carbon pipelines can help Iowa access markets for sustainable aviation fuel and enhanced oil recovery.
“That would make Iowa farmers profitable again and have a huge impact on Iowa’s overall economic health,” Klimesh said. “Access to these markets is not optional for Iowa farmers and Iowa. It is a necessity.”
Klimesh also proposed a tax on carbon dioxide that flows through pipelines. A leading opponent of carbon capture pipelines said the proposals do nothing to protect the rights of landowners who don’t want a pipeline on their land.