The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) has announced to begin permit hearing for Summit Carbon Solutions proposal on August 22, 2023. The proposal is to build US’s largest 2,000-mile long carbon pipeline, which shall open opportunities to use carbon capture and storage (CCS) as fuel.

Jun 20, 2023 

The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) will begin a permit hearing of Summit Carbon Solutions proposal on August 22, 2023 for building the US’s largest proposed 2,000 mile long carbon pipeline. Mr. Joe Biden’s, the US President, administration has said carbon capture and storage (CCS) is important to mitigate US greenhouse emissions. The proposed pipeline will help secure the fuel’s place in the increasingly climate-conscious transportation sector. 

The hearing is expected to last for months owing to various stakeholders and lengthy regulatory process. Summit has already signed over 2,000 easements and agreements to pay fees for property usage with landowners along 475 miles of its 688-mile Iowa route. Summit supports the timeline, and expects the pipeline to become operational in 2024.

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Meanwhile, the project’s opponents, including environmental groups and landowners, do not deem the timeline as adequate. They argue that landowners of over 1,000 plots of land along the proposed Summit route have not yet signed easements and need more time to prepare their testimonies and retain attorneys. Since a permit would provide Summit eminent domain over the said land, as per the Iowa law, the landowners demand a fair process.

Mr. Jess Mazour, an organizer with the Iowa Sierra Club, said, “Opposition groups plan to file briefs challenging the hearing schedule this week.”