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Brookings County establishes CO2 pipeline advisory committee after public commenters urge full halt
Summary
After several residents urged county action on a proposed CO2 sequestration pipeline, the Brookings County Commission voted unanimously to create a CO2 Pipeline Advisory Committee to review federal, state and local materials and advise the commission.
The Brookings County Commission on Tuesday approved Resolution No. 25-11 formally creating the Brookings County CO2 Pipeline Advisory Committee following public comments calling for “complete closure” of a proposed CO2 pipeline.
Members of the public addressed the commission during the allotted public-comment period, saying the pipeline and carbon-capture projects raise safety, property-rights and transparency concerns. Resident Jeff Struy said he supports “complete closure,” calling the project a "bad, expensive idea" and raising objections to eminent domain and the developer’s experience. Resident Jane Paper urged the commission to publish committee materials and to ensure representation from towns along the proposed route. Resident Melissa Liger thanked commissioners for seeking party status in the state PUC docket and asked the commission to continue fact-finding.
The committee will include representatives the county staff recommended and the commission approved. County staff said the advisory body will review federal, state and local documents and report back to the commission; staff also recommended committee members be willing to do extensive reading because the record runs to several hundred pages. The commission set a public application deadline for the two citizen-at-large slots for March 11 at 5:00 p.m. and directed staff to post the application packet and advertise a vacancy notice. The commission also asked county staff to coordinate notification to named stakeholder organizations and to accept township recommendations for their representative slots.
County Community Development staff presented a draft composition that includes county-appointed spots for a sheriff’s office representative, East Dakota Water Development District, township representatives for townships adjacent to the route, a planning/zoning board representative (non-commissioner), a representative from a municipal government, and two public-at-large appointees. Commissioners discussed advertisement timing and a three-week application window; staff said they would update the county website with an application link and supply paper copies on request.
The motion to adopt Resolution 25-11 carried on a unanimous roll call vote by the commission. The commission and staff repeatedly emphasized that the committee is advisory; formal land-use authority remains with the county under current law, and staff framed the committee’s work as gathering and summarizing technical and legal materials for the commission’s later decisions.
The commission’s approval followed weeks of public comment at prior meetings and a request, made in November by residents, for an advisory body to review the pipeline materials. The board gave staff direction to publish committee materials online and to seek broad local representation.
