Iowa House lawmakers are putting pressure on the Senate to support bills that would add sweeping restrictions to eminent domain on agricultural lands and to carbon capture pipeline companies.
The House voted Wednesday to advance two pieces of legislation, House File 943 and House File 639, and urged the Senate to move the legislation to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk to sign into law.
The legislation is part of a flurry of House bills that advanced through the legislative “funnel” to limit eminent domain by companies seeking to build carbon capture pipelines. One of the bills passed Wednesday wrapped five pieces of legislation into a single bill.
Lawmakers denounced Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed $8.9 billion project, which would build a carbon sequestration pipeline extending 2,500 miles across South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota to connect 57 ethanol plants.
The vote comes after landowners opposing the Summit Carbon Solutions’ planned pipeline rallied in the Iowa Capitol last week with renewed energy following the signing of a South Dakota law restricting a pipeline.
Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City, who is one of the House lawmakers leading the charge to pass the legislation, said the bill that passed Wednesday is a “first step” to repair what he said are misteps from the Iowa Utilities Commission to facilitate the Summit pipeline’s use of eminent domain.
The commission granted Summit permission to use eminent domain to acquire property from owners unwilling to sell, a controversial decision that infuriated some landowners.
“We owe it to the state of Iowa to clean up this mess,” Thomson said. “Assuming we pass this bill, assuming that at some point the Senate exceeds to the wishes of the people of Iowa and starts to clean up this mess. We have more work to do than just eminent domain on carbon dioxide pipelines.”
Iowa House puts pressure on Senate to pass eminent domain bills
Iowa House Democrats and Republicans during Wednesday’s debate pressed the Senate to pass the legislation and criticized their past “inaction.”
The House has supported similar legislation as recently as last year, but lacked enough votes from the Senate to deliver it to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk.
Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, called the Senate’s efforts on eminent domain legislation “disappointing” and urged lawmakers in the House and Senate to “stand up for private property rights, stand up for century farms, stand up for property owners, stand up for the birthright of our federal citizens.”
“I can’t control the Senate, I can’t control the governor’s office,” Holt said. “I’m doing everything I can to get the Senate to pass this legislation, and I’ll continue to do it, but by God, we’re going to continue to do what’s right.”
A group of nearly 40 Iowa lawmakers, who call themselves the Republican Legislative Intervenors, added to the pressure on House and Senate members to support the legislation at a press conference Monday.
The lawmakers announced in September that they filed federal and state lawsuits seeking to undo the Iowa Utilities Commission’s approval of Summit’s building permit.
Rep. Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, said he supports the legislation, but his concern is whether the Senate will work to pass it.
“I know there may be people in this chamber today that maybe vote against this bill, but I hope that the leadership and that the Republican caucus will use every fiber of leverage that they have, whether it’s in the shutdown or whatever they can do to negotiate and get something done to protect landowners against Summit,” Meyer said.
Summit spokesperson Sabrina Zenor said in a statement Wednesday that having concrete regulations related to carbon capture pipelines and eminent domain is crucial for Iowa’s economic edge.
“With unanimous 14-0 approvals in North Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota, regulators have affirmed the project’s safety, economic advantages, and importance for energy independence,” Zenor said. “We have signed easements with more than 1,320 Iowa landowners and have adjusted the route based on feedback from stakeholders and regulatory agencies. These actions ensure the project responds to concerns, secures the future of ethanol, and opens pathways to low-carbon markets.”
What do the House’s eminent domain bills do?
Iowa lawmakers passed House File 943 out of the House, which would prohibit the construction of a carbon pipeline as a reason for public use to gain eminent domain powers unless the landowner consents to the condemnation of the land. House members voted 82-12, turning it over to the Senate.
The House also voted to wrap five bills already being considered into one larger bill, House File 639. Lawmakers voted on the legislation 85-10.
The bill requires applicants seeking to build pipelines to submit evidence that their project is insured sufficiently to cover any losses or injury from the construction and any discharge. Under the bill, the pipeline company would have to purchase insurance for someone or reimburse them for increased insurance premiums due to the pipeline’s presence.
Here’s what the amendments added Wednesday to House File 639 would do:
-
H-1185: Previously House File 939, A carbon pipeline could not receive eminent domain powers unless it qualifies as a common carrier and can prove it will sell the commodity to an unaffiliated buyer.
-
H-1186: Previously House File 790, all Iowa Utilities Commission members must be present at hearings on proposed public utility regulations, electric transmission lines and pipelines and at least one commissioner must be present at informational meetings held in counties along the project’s route.
-
H-1187: Previously House File 780, the Iowa Utilities Commission could not renew any permit granted to a liquefied carbon dioxide pipeline and no CO2 pipeline would be allowed to operate longer than 25 years.
-
H-1188: Previously House File 944, state lawmakers, city and county officials and “any resident with a minimally plausible interest” would be allowed to intervene in Iowa Utilities Commission cases.
-
H-1189: Previously House File 923, the Iowa Utilities Commission could not file sanctions against intervenors unless the commission determines the intervenor was knowingly dishonest, committed a crime or caused injury to the commission.
Statehouse Reporter Stephen Gruber-Miller contributed to this article.
Sabine Martin covers politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at sabine.martin@gannett.com or by phone at (515) 284-8132. Follow her on X at @sabinefmartin.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa House passes sweeping restrictions to CO2 pipelines, eminent domain
