FORT DODGE, Iowa — The Iowa Utilities Board held a public evidentiary hearing for Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed $5.5 billion pipeline network on Tuesday.
According to IUB documentation, three witnesses spoke at the Tuesday hearing in Fort Dodge, which started at 9 a.m.
What is the Iowa Utilities Board pipeline hearing about?
Summit Carbon Solutions' pipeline would create a system of underground pipelines carrying CO2 across 2,000 miles and five states, including Iowa. The $5.5 billion project has attracted criticism and interest in its infancy, and the Fort Dodge hearings will allow witnesses to share their piece on the pipeline.
Proponents of carbon capture technology hail the process as a climate change combatant with backing from the Biden administration.
But public reception to the technology has been varied, with landowners, farmers, environmental activists and more opposing the project publicly, typically citing land ownership and environmental concerns as potential qualms.
Jessica Marson, a fourth-generation land owner with 80 acres of cropland, told the board she feared the pipeline could rupture.
"At this point, there is nowhere for this pipeline to go," Marson said. "Pause the threat of eminent domain and provide the citizens in Iowa, and the land owners of Iowa, the necessary safety releases to understand what you're asking."
“We are concerned about our safety. We are concerned about our community," she added.
Clay County land owner Marcia Langner also testified before the board, citing her concern for the livestock and wetlands on her property.
“Keeping the land intact without private entities encroaching on it is a fundamental desire and right,” Langner said.
Are there other pipelines planned in Iowa?
Other similar projects affecting Iowa are in the works, including pipelines by Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions, though they've faced similar backlash.
An Iowa judge ruled that a state law giving surveyors the right to enter private property is unconstitutional back in early May, handing opponents of the proposed pipelines a victory.
Earlier this month, North Dakota regulators denied the carbon dioxide pipeline's sitting permit.
How long will the pipeline hearing continue?
The hearing is expected to last multiple days and will be livestreamed on the Iowa Utilities Board's website. As of Tuesday, the board has published witness lists and information up until Friday, Aug. 24.
Click here for more information, including where to watch and how to access each day's witness list.