Supervisors: court rulings leave Summit Carbon permits in limbo; counties coordinate legal response

Woodbury County supervisors reported that recent court rulings in neighboring states have undercut aspects of Summit Carbon's permit strategy and left the project's future uncertain.

Supervisor briefings recounted a conference call with Timothy Whipple, counsel for a multi-county legal coalition. Supervisors said Summit Carbon originally relied on permits and storage plans in South Dakota and North Dakota; recent changes in South Dakota law limiting eminent-domain use for certain projects and a North Dakota Supreme Court decision striking down a prior eminent-domain approach have left Summit with no clear storage solution and far fewer voluntary easements than before.

"They had 70–80% participation on easements in their earlier plan; now it's less than 20%," a supervisor said. Board members stressed that those participation shortfalls will complicate any request for eminent domain and that several legal questions remain open, including whether counties can enforce local safety ordinances, whether the project qualifies as a public 'common good,' and whether the company must obtain county road permits for construction work.

Supervisors said Woodbury County already has pipeline zoning on the books that pre-dates recent local ordinance efforts elsewhere and that the county's code appears usable for now. Supervisors encouraged continued inter-county coordination and said legislative fixes are being discussed at the state level but have stalled in the Senate.

The county will monitor court developments and follow up with additional legal filings and intergovernmental coordination as needed. Supervisors urged constituents to contact state legislators to press for statutory changes if they oppose eminent-domain use for private pipelines.