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Wright County landowner urges supervisors to direct planning commission to draft CO2 pipeline setback ordinances
Summary
At the Jan. 20 Wright County Board of Supervisors meeting, landowner Julie Glade urged the board to ask planning and zoning to prepare local ordinances creating setbacks for the proposed Summit CO2 pipeline, citing precedent in other Iowa counties and ongoing litigation.
Julie Glade, a Wright County landowner, urged the Wright County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 20, 2025, to direct the county Planning and Zoning Commission to draft zoning ordinances establishing setbacks for the proposed Summit carbon dioxide pipeline. Glade told the board she represents landowners affected by the project and said about a dozen Iowa counties have adopted or considered setback ordinances for CO2 pipelines.
Glade told the board she had been told previously that the board could not act without an ordinance from planning and zoning and asked who would direct the commission to draft the language. She said: "We've been told in the past that the board of supervisors can't move ahead without zoning ordinances from the P and Z. But who's going to direct the P and Z to draw them up?" She also said, "People are gonna suffer. People are gonna possibly die," if protections are not enacted locally.
Glade referenced a recent Iowa Senate bill, S.F. 136, saying the measure would allow counties to establish setbacks and that state-level work was underway. She also said several counties had paused ordinances while awaiting court outcomes, and that litigation (including a pending case in Shelby County) was a factor in local caution.
Board members and staff responded that the legal landscape is unsettled. A county official said some counties have placed ordinances "on hold" while lawsuits proceed and that the Iowa Utilities Board has issued rulings that affect local options. The board also noted it has counsel who have advised in prior discussions about ordinances and right‑of‑way rules. Supervisor Betty Ellis told Glade she would try to contact a Planning and Zoning representative (Jeremy) and follow up with Glade after the meeting.
The public comment did not produce a formal directive or vote at the meeting. Board members described the issue as one for which legal advice and the status of ongoing litigation are relevant and indicated they could provide more information to new supervisors and consider further action pending counsel input and developments in other counties and at the state level.
Glade's remarks were part of the regular public comment period; no ordinance language or formal request to place an ordinance on the board's agenda was adopted during the session.
