Latest news with #ChaseJensen
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Controversial pipeline provision removed as expected, group says
A sign opposing carbon dioxide pipelines stands alongside an eastern South Dakota farm field in July 2024. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) A coalition of groups opposing a multi-state carbon dioxide pipeline celebrated the removal of controversial language from the budget reconciliation bill passed Thursday by the U.S. House. Last week, the groups raised alarms about a provision they said would have allowed federal regulators to approve natural gas and carbon dioxide pipelines over prohibitions in state law. South Dakota passed a law earlier this year that bans the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines. Eminent domain is a legal process for gaining land access from unwilling owners, in exchange for compensation determined by a judge. U.S. House Republicans push through massive tax and spending bill slashing Medicaid Chase Jensen, a senior organizer for Dakota Rural Action in South Dakota, was among the activists who called for the provision's removal. 'Within days of being introduced, Congress heard loud and clear that seizing federal siting authority for oil and CO2 pipelines was a nonstarter all across the nation,' Jensen said in a news release. The groups are also calling for the repeal of a federal tax credit for carbon sequestration, but have not succeeded in getting that repeal inserted in the legislation. And they remain opposed to a 'fast-track' provision in the bill that they say would allow potential gas pipeline operators to pay a fee of $10 million for expedited federal environmental reviews within a year's time. The proposed $9 billion, five-state Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline does not require that type of federal review, but it does need eminent domain for its proposed route. The project, which would transport ethanol-plant carbon emissions to an underground sequestration site in North Dakota, remains in limbo in South Dakota after the passage of the state's eminent domain ban and two permit rejections by the state's Public Utilities Commission. South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@
Reuters
23-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
South Dakota regulators deny Summit Carbon Solutions a carbon dioxide pipeline permit
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - Regulators in South Dakota on Tuesday denied Summit Carbon Solutions' permit application to run about 700 miles (1126 km) of its carbon dioxide pipeline through the state, the second time the state has spurned the company hoping to build the world's largest carbon pipeline aiming to combat climate change. The denial is another of several setbacks to the project, including South Dakota's March ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. The state denied the company's first permit application in 2023. Summit hopes to run 2,500 miles (4023 km) of pipeline across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota to capture carbon dioxide from 57 ethanol plants and store it underground. The company has faced resistance from landowners along the route who refuse to sign easements out of concern about potential pipeline leaks and impact to land values. In a Tuesday afternoon meeting, members of the state Public Utilities Commission said Summit had not adequately demonstrated a viable route for the pipeline without the use of eminent domain - compulsory land purchases for projects in the public's interest. "We will take the necessary steps to refile an application that reflects a reduced scope and continued engagement with landowners and plant partners," said Summit spokesperson Sabrina Zenor. Groups resisting the pipeline celebrated the decision. "Summit's application depended on the use of eminent domain to force unwilling landowners into the project. Now that South Dakotans have the right to say 'no, thank you', the route was unworkable," said Chase Jensen, an organizer with Dakota Rural Action, in a statement. The ethanol industry supports carbon capture and storage projects because they would help the industry secure lucrative tax credits for lower emission fuels. Carbon storage projects have drawn huge investment but also are expensive and unproven at scale. Summit's permit applications have been approved in Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota. Nebraska does not have a state approval process for carbon dioxide pipelines.
