A ban on eminent domain for carbon pipelines will not advance in its current form after Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, said he would amend it with his own pipeline proposal.
The Iowa House passed a bill last week banning the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines in response to some landowners’ ongoing concerns about portions of their land being taken for the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.
Klimesh chaired a subcommittee meeting Tuesday, where he heard public comments on the House bill (HF 2104). At the end of the hearing, he said the Senate Commerce Committee would amend the House bill to reflect his bill (SF 2067) that aims to help pipeline companies find a route around unwilling landowners.
Klimesh has said his bill would avoid the need for eminent domain, while letting a carbon pipeline project move forward to benefit Iowa’s economy.
“We are all concerned about property rights — everybody in the Senate is, everybody in both chambers is,” he said. “And it’s time for us to find a solution, but find a solution that allows us to get ourselves out and dig ourselves out of the box we currently have put ourselves in by overregulating the notice corridor.”
Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said that was a “bait and switch” on an issue that Iowans care deeply about.
“I fully support the piece of legislation that passed the House,” she said. “And now, if you’re seeking public comment on the House version, and you have a completely different game plan of how you’re planning to run it through the Iowa Senate, I think people should have a right to know that.”
Klimesh said he might also hold a subcommittee hearing on his own pipeline legislation.
Several landowners who oppose the carbon pipeline expressed support for the House bill.
Darlene Partlow, who owns land in Guthrie County, said the bill is a win-win.
“It protects the property rights of Iowans against the abuse of eminent domain,” she said. “It does not stop a carbon dioxide pipeline from being built. What it does do is create an equal playing field for negotiations.”
Representatives for renewable fuels and corn groups, as well as some labor unions, oppose the bill banning eminent domain for carbon pipelines.
Dylan Gramlich, a lobbyist for the Laborers International Union of North America, said the Summit pipeline would provide work for thousands of construction workers, and passing the House bill would have unintended consequences.
“Those thousands of people are going to be again left in limbo without a job while this political football goes back and forth,” he said.
Peg Rasmussen, a Montgomery County landowner, said the bill doesn’t prevent construction of a carbon pipeline, it just protects private property rights. She also referred to Klimesh’s bill that would allow Summit to seek voluntary land sales anywhere within a county that had an informational meeting or within 5 miles of each side of the proposed route.
“Summit chose the current corridor. Summit can request at any time to change the corridor through the existing process with the Iowa Utilities Commission by making an amendment," Rasmussen said. "Proponents insist that this project is necessary and worthy. If that’s the case, there should be absolutely no problem building the pipeline without the use of eminent domain.”
Colin Gorton, a lobbyist for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said lawmakers should give pipeline companies more flexibility to find a route with voluntary land agreements.
“Right now, you basically have to throw a dart at the wall when you’re proposing a route and hope that all the landowners along it are supportive,” Gorton said. “So we’re in favor of opening up Iowa’s permitting process a little bit to allow companies to go out and talk to landowners.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the House bill was on the agenda for a Senate Commerce Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
