The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee on Jan. 24 voted 10 to 3 to advance a bill that aims to prevent the use of eminent domain for the development of carbon dioxide pipelines within the state.&nbsp;The legislation, House Bill 1052, was introduced Jan. 15 and referred to the House State Affairs Committee where it was addressed during a Jan. 24 hearing. During that hearing, numerous landowners testified in the support of the bill, while representatives of Summit Carbon Solutions, the South Dakota Ethanol Producers Association, Gevo, Ringneck Energy, Glacial Lakes Energy, Redfield Energy and Dakota Ethanol offered testimony opposing the legislation.&nbsp;Brett Koenecke, an attorney representing Summit Carbon Solutions, clarified that the bill proports to eliminate the privilege of eminent domain from the Summit pipeline project based on what it carries—a non-flammable, not-explosive gas that is emitted into the state’s air daily.&nbsp;To develop its pipeline project, Summit is seeking easements from landowners to bury a pipeline underneath the surface, Koenecke explained. “There is no land grab here,” he stressed. “No one’s farm is being taken. It’s an easement to bury a pipeline and allow most surface uses to continue.”&nbsp;Koenecke described the efforts Summit has made to accommodate landowner wishes and needs, including hundreds of reroutes and micro-routing. He also noted that nearly three-fourths of landowners have signed onto the project voluntarily.“What we can’t do is attempt to satisfy people’s needs and requirements if they won’t answer the phone and won’t answer the door,” Koenecke added, stressing that eminent domain is a way to pull people to the table and get them to start talking so Summit can engage in the kinds of conversations that result in success.&nbsp;Matt McCaulley, an attorney representing the South Dakota Ethanol Producers Association, spoke about the economic impact of the state’s ethanol industry and the symbiotic relationship between landowners and ethanol producers, noting that two-thirds of South Dakota’s corn crop goes to ethanol production. Approximately 95% of the ethanol produced in South Dakota is exported out of the state, McCaulley continued. While ethanol producers in several other areas of the country can capture and store CO2 onsite due to their geological characteristics, the only way for South Dakota producers to lower their carbon intensity (CI) via CO2 capture is to connect to a pipeline. Preventing the pipeline project from moving forward would impact the ability of South Dakota’s ethanol producers to access low-CI ethanol markets and would limit the ability to participate in the expanding sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry.&nbsp;Sam Nelson, an attorney representing Gevo, said eliminating the possibility of using eliminant domain to develop Summit’s pipeline project would put Gevo’s proposed SAF project in Lake Preston in jeopardy. He noted that the process of eminent domain creates a fair playing field for everyone. If you read the statutes, he said, it brings people to the table who otherwise wouldn’t come to the table. The eminent domain process also creates a fair judicial process for “the little guy,” he added. This legislation, however, aims to “change the rules in the middle of the game.”“What you’re being asked to do is to change a law that people have relied upon and that will provide a fair process,” Nelson said. “The only conclusion I can come to when I review the legislation is that the law is being asked to be changed to kill the project.”&nbsp;Bill Van Camp, an attorney representing Ringneck Energy, Glacial Lakes Energy, Redfield Energy and Dakota Ethanol, explained that the state’s ethanol producers will need to reduce their CI scores to access new and growing markets for their products. The practical reality of the bill is that it will kill the pipeline project, stranding the state’s ethanol producers and preventing them from being able to complete in the global market space for lower-CI fuels, he indicated.&nbsp;A full replay of the hearing is available on the South Dakota Legislature <a href="https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25581">website</a>.

2025-01-28 - South Dakota bill aims to prevent the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines (3 publications)

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South Dakota lawmakers on Jan. 24 voted 10 to 3 to advance a bill that aims to prevent the use of eminent domain for the development of CO2 pipelines. Representatives of ethanol and SAF producers testified against the legislation. 

South Dakota bill aims to prevent the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines

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