An Iowa House bill that would restrict the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines in the state is effectively dead until the next session, in 2024, after the Senate late last month failed to advance it ahead of a legislative deadline. That leaves the issue for now with the Iowa Utilities Board, which can rule on eminent domain requests.
The proposed bill would have banned the use of eminent domain unless access to 90% of the planned pipeline route was first obtained from owners voluntarily. It would have also offered protections to owners if their land or property was damaged by a pipeline. But senators generally opposed any use of eminent domain to obtain land for the projects.
Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO2 Ventures, and Wolf Carbon Solutions have all requested permits to build pipelines in Iowa. Their plan is to capture carbon dioxide from ethanol plants, transfer it via pipeline to other states, and then bury it underground.
