Press release: The Pipeline Fight Continues After North Dakota Industrial Commission Permits Summit’s CO2 Wells

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 12, 2024

The Pipeline Fight Continues After North Dakota Industrial Commission Permits Summit’s CO2 Wells

Summit still needs a pipeline state permit in South Dakota; meanwhile, several court cases are also pending

Bismarck – Landowners and grassroots advocacy organizations vow to continue fighting after an unsurprising decision from the Industrial Commission. The North Dakota Industrial Commission, comprised of Gov. Doug Burgum, the Attorney General, and the Agricultural Commissioner, approved Summit Carbon Solutions’ permits for Class VI injection wells.

Summit proposes to use these wells to inject carbon dioxide (CO2), captured from 57 ethanol plants across Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, a mile underground in Oliver and Mercer counties, beneath the homes of residents and the larger communities.

The underground storage of CO2 has been associated with potential hazards due to the nature of the chemical, including its corrosiveness and the risks it may pose to public safety. Recently, an underground breach occurred at an ADM-operated sequestration facility in Decatur, Illinois, the first commercial geologic sequestration operation in the United States. CO2 corroded that equipment, allowing the gas to migrate beyond the defined storage zone, narrowly avoiding the acidification of an aquifer that serves as a source of drinking water. Summit proposes to use the same grade material in North Dakota that was corrupted by carbon dioxide at the Decatur facility.

“While not surprising, given Governor Burgum’s outspoken support for carbon capture and sequestration, this decision will only cause the opposition to Summit’s risky project to dig in their heels. This is a very technical issue, and the decision whether or not to permit this project should have been informed more by engineers, geologists, and other technical experts not by politicians whose loyalty is to a political agenda more so than the science behind these projects,” said Scott Skokos, Dakota Resource Council.

“We never expected any other outcome from this commission, particularly given Governor Burgum’s business and political relationship with Summit’s major investment partner, Continental Resources. At the end of the day, this predictable decision won’t make a difference to the widespread project resistance – we’ll continue doing everything we can to topple this stacked deck in order to protect the property rights and wellbeing of North Dakotans,” said Emma Schmit, Bold Alliance Pipeline Fighters Director.

Summit continues to face significant challenges as it encounters multiple permit appeals and local zoning regulations across the pipeline’s five-state footprint. Separate lawsuits over the Public Service Commission’s permitting decision have been launched by landowners and by Burleigh County. Additionally, the Northwest Landowners Association is suing the state over its amalgamation law (which allows the state to take away landowners’ mineral rights without the usual legal remedies granted by Eminent Domain).

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About the North Dakota Easement Team:
The North Dakota 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 NDET 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 NDET: https://NDeasement.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)

About Dakota Resource Council:
Formed in 1978, Dakota Resource Council grew out of existing organizing efforts responding to impacts from coal development. DRC works with communities across the state to organize around the common goals of securing a thriving North Dakota and putting people first. Members take action to create public awareness and shape public policy to ensure safe and responsible development, protect North Dakota’s agricultural economy, and establish a foundation for a just transition to a diverse energy economy. (drcinfo.org)