Summit Carbon Solutions is changing its proposed pipeline route in Iowa, removing approximately 200 miles of pipe and bypassing several counties. The company is shifting its destination from North Dakota to a carbon sequestration site in Wyoming. This strategic pivot follows a new South Dakota law that prohibits the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines. The move aims to reduce the number of affected landowners and navigate regulatory barriers that threatened the project's viability.
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This is a textbook case of how land use policy dictates infrastructure. One state bans eminent domain and the whole project map has to be redrawn. The incentive for the project is there, but the legal path to implementation is a mess.
Moving the endpoint to Wyoming is a massive change in logistics. I wonder how this affects the total project cost and the timeline for the sequestration site. Does the Wyoming site have the same capacity as the North Dakota plan?
Summit is cutting 200 miles and 400 landowners to try and save the project. It looks like they are trying to find the path of least resistance since South Dakota shut the door on eminent domain.
The Sierra Club is right that this looks like a struggle. When you start cutting out entire counties and switching states for the sink, you are reacting to failure, not optimizing for growth.
