Midwest States CO2 Legislation Tracker

The Pipeline Fighters Hub created a Midwest States CO2 Legislation Tracker to follow the current slate of carbon dioxide pipeline and CCS-related bills making their way through the state legislatures of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. 

Illinois

Bill:  Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act

Status:  Submitted to the Legislative Research Bureau with updates. Will be re-introduced in the House and Senate mid-February

Bill Sponsors:  Senator Fine and Representative  Williams

What it would do:

• Carbon Capture:
  • Require a lifecycle analysis of all CCS projects to confirm they are net carbon negative.
  • Mandate reporting on how much CO₂ is actually captured and how much is still released 
  • Require demonstration that a project will not harm or deplete local water supplies
  • Include alternatives analysis to determine whether emissions reductions can be achieved by other means, including renewables.
• Carbon Pipelines:
  • Eliminate the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines.
  • Require operators to avoid areas with geohazards that can destabilize –or break– pipelines
  • Compel the State to conduct a study to set criteria for setback distances and companies to make their plume modeling public.
  • Require corporations obtain a routing permit from the Illinois EPA that includes consultation with local governments and first responders in each county and feedback from the general public via agency-hosted meetings and hearings.
• Carbon Sequestration:
  • Prohibit the forced acquisition of pore space(similar to eminent domain) for sequestration.
  • Ensure injection wells are set back far enough to protect residents if a well blows out.
  • Require avoidance of earthquake-prone areas, sole-source aquifers, and other risky locations, and operators to perform long-term monitoring to ensure CO2 does not escape confinement.
  • Require the injection of CO2 to be stopped in the event it triggers an earthquake, and an analysis as to whether it can safely continue or must be stopped altogether.
  • Hold the operator of a storage area liable for any release of carbon dioxide.
• Other Key Provisions:
  • Ban on use of captured CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery. 
  • Establish a fund to help communities with emergency preparedness and emergency response capabilities in the event of a carbon dioxide release.

Bill: CO2 Pipeline Moratorium, no bill number yet.

Status: Bill has been filed.

Bill Sponsors:  Senator McClure and Representative Moeller

What it would do:

• Enact a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines. 
• The moratorium would expire after four years; OR the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration finalizes rulemaking and Illinois adopts setback criteria; OR the Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act has been passed.

Iowa

Bill: Senate File 2097

Status: Assigned to Commerce subcommittee

Bill Sponsors: Senators Salmon, Guth, Westrich,Green,Alons, Evans, Rowley, J. Taylor, and Lofgren

What it would do:

• Legalize county ordinances.
• Set a moratorium until the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration releases updated rules on carbon pipelines
• Require a carbon pipeline must be buried 8 feet deep.
• Require all federal, state, and local permits be granted before the Iowa Utilities Board can approve a construction permit or eminent domain.
• Set a 90% threshold of miles and parcels for voluntary easements before eminent domain can be granted.
• Pipeline company must release plume modeling at the time of application.
• Pipeline company must release investor information
• Repeal the section of code allowing surveying
• Applies retroactively to carbon pipeline projects

Bill: House Study Bill 608

Status: Passed Judiciary subcommittee

Bill Sponsors: Committee on Judiciary

What it would do:

• Establish a procedure allowing for legislators to file a petition to pause condemnation proceedings.
• Allow proceedings to resume when ⅗ majority of each legislative chamber approves.

Bill: Senate File 2099

Status: Assigned to Commerce subcommittee

Bill Sponsors: Senators Guth, Evans, Salmon, Alons, J. Taylor, Green, Westrich, Rowley and Lofgren

What it would do:

• Set a 90% threshold of miles and parcels for voluntary easements before eminent domain can be granted.
• Hold the pipeline company liable for damages.
• Increase the surety bond amount required for a pipeline company to receive a permit.
• Require the pipeline company establish a GPS system in order to monitor and compensate for crop damage.

Nebraska

Bill: Legislative Bill 1366

Status: Hearing was held 2/2/2024

Bill Sponsors: Senators Cavanaugh, Bostelman, Brewer

What it would do:

• Define good faith negotiation.
• Require an appraisal shared with the owner at the time of negotiations as evidence of good faith.
• Prohibit private entities being vested with eminent domain powers for a pipeline without approval by the Public Service Commission or a majority vote of the governing body of the county, city, or village where the property is located approving condemnation.
• Allow the landowner to have the title or interest returned for the amount of the condemnation award should the property not be needed for the public use.

Bill: Legislative Bill 1140

Status: Withdrawn

Bill Sponsors: Senator Erdman

What it would do:

• Prohibit geologic transport or storage of carbon dioxide.
• Repeal the Nebraska Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide Act.

South Dakota

Bill: House Bill 1185

Status: Referred to House Commerce and Energy, Passed

Bill Sponsors: Representatives Mortenson, Bartels, Callies, Koth, Perry, Pinnow, Shorma, Teunissen, Tordsen, and Wangsness and Senator Crabtree 

What it would do:

• Require a company have a pending or approved siting permit application before the Public Utilities Commission in order to survey
• Set a 30 day written notice to landowners before being able to survey
• Establish content of the 30 day written notice including an anticipated survey location and time
• Enact a one-time, $500 payment to landowner for surveying access and additional compensation for damages
• Allow landowner to challenge the right to survey in court
• Require a company provide survey results to landowner upon request

Bill: House Bill 1186

Status: Referred to House Commerce and Energy, Passed

Bill Sponsors: Representatives Mortenson, Blare, Koth, Lesmeister, Pinnow, Teunissen, Tordsen, Wangsness, and Weisgram and Senator Crabtree 

What it would do:

• Establish that a carbon pipeline easement runs with the land and terminates upon the conditions stated in the easement
• Limit easement terms to 50 years
• Void easement if CO2 isn’t transported within five years
• Sets annual easement payments with a minimum of at least one dollar per linear foot of carbon pipeline on the property
• Hold that if the easement holder mortgages any part of the easement holder’s rights and interests under the easement, it is the responsibility of the easement holder and does not otherwise attach to the land or obligate the property owner. 
• Require a carbon pipeline easement agreement include a statement disclosing that the easement holder may mortgage or encumber any part of the easement holder’s rights and interests under the agreement unless otherwise specified in the agreement.

Bill: House Bill 1190

Status: Referred to House Commerce and Energy, Passed

Bill sponsors: Representatives Odenbach, Aylward, Deutsch, Gross, Krohmer, Krull, May, Mills, Overweg, Perry, Schaefbauer, Sjaarda, and Soye and Senator Maher

What it would do:

• Amend public use criteria for condemnation proceedings, including changes to the application that would require a description of the good faith efforts put forth to negotiate with the landowner and a detailed description of the public use that necessitates the taking of the land.
• Allow for a landowner to demand a hearing if they question the authorization or public use of the taking and allowing the court to decide if it is a public use.
• Set criteria to be automatically considered a public use.
• Hold that a public use must provide an obvious public benefit, avoid uncompensated private injury, and fall within a certain category (eg: it must be government owned, a railroad, natural gas pipeline, etc.) to qualify for eminent domain powers.
• Establish that economic development alone does not meet the standard of public use.

Bill: Senate Bill 201

Status: Introduced

Bill sponsors: Senator Crabtree and Representative Mortenson

What it would do: 

• Forbid counties from enacting regulations, ordinances, fees or setbacks on CO2 pipelines.
• Establish a statewide 350 foot setback, preempting existing ordinance setbacks. 
• Require the pipeline company to put money into a special fund to cover extraordinary expenses the project may create for the state or its political subdivisions and a process for the distribution of those funds. 
• Create a four foot pipeline depth requirement.
• Hold pipeline companies liable and indemnify landowners.
• Require damage to tile be repaired by the pipeline company.
• Require dispersion modeling be submitted to the PUC, but the modeling would be kept confidential.