A bill that would ban the use of eminent domain for pipelines carrying carbon dioxide has cleared initial committee review in the Iowa House. The bill is similar to a South Dakota law and would not allow Summit Carbon Solutions to use the government’s eminent domain authority to seize land along the pipeline route. Mike Henning, who owns Greene County farmland, says it gives people like him who don’t want the pipeline on their property the opportunity to say no. A lobbyist for Summit Carbon Solutions says the bill would kill the company’s project — and he urged lawmakers to adopt an alternative being offered in the Iowa Senate. That bill would let Summit change its proposed route within a 10 mile zone and go around land where property owners refuse to sign voluntary easements.
