Summit updates O’Brien board of progress | News – nwestiowa.com

PRIMGHARSummit Carbon Solutions first made his presence felt in OBrien County on Sept. 22, 2021, during an informational meeting in Sheldon where it announced plans to install 33.45 miles of carbon dioxide pipeline through the county.

Summit has since sent representatives to county board of supervisors meetings on regular basis to update the progress of the easements obtained from landowners along the proposed pipeline route.

The July 25 meeting was the latest visit from Summit reps Kaylee Langrell and Isaac Risseeuw and most likely the last one before the Iowa Utilities Board begins its hearing on the pipeline on Tuesday, Aug. 22, in Fort Dodge.

Langrell said Summit has acquired more than 27 miles of easements needed for the two pipelines one will run east to west in between Primghar and Paullina close to 410th Street and the other will be about five miles west of Paullina and run north until attaching to the other pipeline.

The 27 miles represents a little more than 80 percent of the pipelines coverage in the county. Langrell said Summit has acquired about 70 percent of the miles it needs for the pipeline in the state.

Those who continue to hold out on signing an easement with Summit could be subject to eminent domain if the project is eventually approved by the IUB. Langrell said the hope is the IUB will make its decision before the end of the year.

OBrien County auditor Barb Rohwer said she received 50 documents on Monday pertaining to eminent domain. Langrell said those are the easements Summit has not signed with landowners yet.

Negotiations are still ongoing, Langrell said. Its not saying eminent domain is going to happen. We havent been granted that right yet, and were still actively working through negotiation.

Supervisor Dan Friedrichsen asked if the documents still were notice of eminent domain proceedings.

Langrell said those are just notices.

But if we do not sign them and eminent domain is granted down the line, thats a possibility, she said. So, Im not saying its off the table, but those are the ones that we have not signed at this point. It doesnt mean theyre not talking to us, it just means we havent come to an agreement yet.

Langrell said Summit has acquired 104 of 135 tracts of land it needs in OBrien County.

One of the misconceptions Langrell wanted to try to put to rest during the meeting was regarding drain tile damages due to the potential pipeline construction.

People know were saying that we will repair those drain tile damages, they dont necessarily believe it, she said. One thing that we have been doing is trying to work really hard with landowners and counties on having agreements with how we crossed the tile.

Summit is partnering with Ellingson Drainage, a Minnesota company, to oversee drainage tile repair for the pipeline.

They will follow our construction crews and make temporary repairs and then come back and do permanent repairs, Langrell said. The landowner also has the option to choose their own drain tile repair company and that would be paid for by Summit.

Supervisor Dennis Vanden Hull said some of the tile is part of system and a lot of damage can be done to the system as a whole. He asked if the whole system would get repaired, not just the portion the pipeline would cross.

There are some farmers that have spent $60,000 to $100,000 to pattern tile a field and now thats a system, Vanden Hull said.

Risseeuw said if the system is damaged, Summit is going to fix it.

Langrell later touched on a few more misconceptions. She said landowners still will be able to get liability insurance, but the landowner does not need liability insurance for the pipeline since it is owned by Summit and liability falls on the company.

That is listed in the signed easements along with that if the pipeline is ever sold by Summit, the easement language remains the same.

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Summit updates O'Brien board of progress | News - nwestiowa.com