BOONE, Iowa — A proposed carbon dioxide pipeline built by Summit Carbon Solutions held an informational and question and answer session in Boone Monday afternoon.
Officials from the Iowa Utilities Board, plus Summit leadership, were on hand to give presentations and answer residents' questions.
Although just over one mile of the pipeline will travel through northwestern Boone County, over 700 miles of pipeline will be laid across the state.
The purpose of the project? To reduce carbon emissions from 31 ethanol plants across the Upper Midwest. The company plans to take the carbon dioxide output from the refineries through the pipeline to be stored permanently in North Dakota over a mile deep into the ground.
Although the process of carbon dioxide sequestration is not a new idea, the "Midwest Carbon Express" would be the biggest activation of the concept in the country.
"This is a technology that's been around for a long time. It's been well studied, it's been done the right way. And we're definitely working with the best people to make sure that throughout the construction process and the operation of the pipeline that is done safely," Quinn Slaven of Summit Carbon told Local 5.
Summit has to visit and provide informational sessions at all 30 Iowa counties the pipeline is planned to run through.
Officials say they hope to have the project finished and operational in 2024.