What are Carbon Capture Pipelines, and What Does it Mean for Iowa Farmers?

The Heartland Greenway is a pipeline that sprawls throughout north and central Iowa and travels into South Dakota, Nebraska, and Illinois. This pipeline is brought to you by a company that goes by the name of Navigators CO2 Ventures. Along with this, Carbon Summit Solutions and ADM Wolf Carbon Solutions have both proposed carbon capture pipelines to be built across the state. As a result, thousands of local farmers are subject to eminent domain and having their land expropriated. The pipeline essentially sources carbon emissions from 21 ethanol processors across the Midwest. In turn, it will store 15 million metric tons of carbon within the ground.

Summit Carbon Solutions have recently reported that "2,400 landowners have signed 3,800 easement agreements" (Globe Gazette) which makes up nearly 60% of the proposed pipeline. This is a startling number and seems to mean that most people in the Midwest and Iowa are embracing this project. Summit Carbon Solutions goes on to say that, in particular, 64% of the pipeline that runs through Hancock County has already been approved for easement by landowners. They believe this number can be attributed by the fact that residents and landowners in Hancock County are aware that "the ethanol industry is at a cross roads."

While essentially every local farmer in north and central Iowa are conscious about their impact on the environment, and go to great lengths to minimize that impact, they are still practical. Whether this pipeline actually improves the ethanol market let alone traps carbon emissions in the ground is up for debate. The only way to know for sure whether this project is a net positive is when the project is finished and operational. In the meantime, thousands of local farmers are losing land to eminent domain in what seems to be for an obscure science experiment.

What the Iowan Perspective would like to know is how local farmers and landowners feel about this project. By all means, please voice your opinion. Follow us on twitter @IAPerspective or email us at iowanperspective@gmail.com and tell us your thoughts.

Source: https://globegazette.com/community/letter-to-the-editor-summit-carbon-solutions-pipeline-official-responds/article_397990d7-4270-540b-90b8-4319141d5edc.html