Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Omaha Hears Iowa Counties’ & Landowners’ Defense of CO2 Pipeline Ordinances
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Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Omaha Hears Iowa Counties’ & Landowners’ Defense of CO2 Pipeline Ordinances
Omaha — Landowners impacted by proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines attended oral arguments before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Omaha on Wednesday, where Shelby and Story Counties in Iowa defended the ordinances passed by their elected board members to address concerns and challenges posed to existing and future infrastructure and development should hazardous CO2 pipelines be proposed for their communities.
As the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has stated previously, and in fact recently reiterated in a Sept. 15, 2023 letter addressed directly to Summit CEO Lee Blank – “the responsibility for siting new carbon dioxide pipelines rests largely with the individual states and counties through which the pipelines will operate and is governed by state and local law.”
“How hazardous pipelines are constructed, assembled and installed must follow uniform standards – these are known as safety standards. You don’t want a pipeline in Iowa to be constructed with different specifications than the pipeline it is connected to in Minnesota. But the idea of considering safety when determining commonsense county setbacks for hazardous infrastructure is totally different. The fact a county supervisor may have had a thought of safety as well as economic development in their mind when considering a county level ordinance is not and has nothing to do with federal “safety standards” – they are not the same. We feel confident federal law does not prevent the multi-century precedent of local governments ability to enact zoning regulations. Routing and locating CO2 pipelines is expressly up to the states through county ordinances and state permitting agencies,” said Brian Jorde, attorney for Iowa Easement Team with Omaha-based Domina Law Group who filed a “friend of the court” brief on behalf of impacted Iowa landowners, supporting the counties.
“As a Shelby County landowner, I am grateful my county passed an ordinance to put the welfare of people before the wealth of a pipeline company. I’m proud they are fighting for us and hope the Court offers a just decision in our favor,” said Sherri Webb, an impacted landowner on the proposed Summit pipeline in Shelby County, Iowa.
“We strongly believe counties know the needs of their communities best and have a right to enact ordinances regarding hazardous carbon pipelines. We deserve a voice in what happens in our communities. We hope the Court concurs,” said Emma Schmit, Pipeline Fighters Director, Bold Alliance.
An audio recording of Wednesday’s oral arguments is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHOEi79rPlY
View background on the case, and the landowners’ amicus brief:
https://pipelinefighters.org/news/federal-court-to-hear-appeal-from-iowa-counties-sued-by-summit-over-co2-pipeline-ordinances/
About Iowa Easement Team
The Iowa Easement Team works to educate, organize and support landowners who are opposed to eminent domain for private gain, and pool resources for landowners seeking legal representation in eminent domain battles and pipeline fights. Landowners with the IET also sponsor a range of advertising and social media outreach, and are networking with other state-based Easement Teams and landowners opposing carbon pipelines across the Midwest. The Easement Action Teams are a project of the Bold Education Fund. Read more about the IET: https://IAeasement.org
About Bold Alliance:
The Bold Alliance is a network of “small and mighty” groups in rural states working to protect land and water. We fight fossil fuel projects, protect landowners against eminent domain abuse, and work for clean energy solutions while building an engaged base of citizens who care about the land, water, and climate change. (https://boldalliance.org)
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