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Residents urge Mills County to shore up property protections after Summit trims CO2 pipeline route
Summary
Speakers at the Mills County board meeting said Summit Energy has filed to remove pipeline segments but left a roughly 800‑mile route intact; speakers urged supervisors to consider moratoria, local ordinances and land‑use protections to guard landowners’ property and water rights.
Jan Norris, who identified herself as a resident of Montgomery County, told the Mills County Board of Supervisors that Summit Energy filed a notice on May 13 with the Iowa Utilities Commission to withdraw certain segments of its proposed CO2 pipeline and remove four ethanol‑plant connections, reducing the route by about 200 miles but leaving a route of nearly 800 miles north of Interstate 80.
"Summit's route removal has not taken away the threat of imminent domain," Norris said, urging local officials to be proactive. She warned that, even if the company narrows its near‑term plans, the withdrawal could be a strategy to reduce opposition and return later with revised routing and renewed pressure on landowners.
Board members and other participants asked follow‑up questions about whether Summit plans to reroute through Nebraska or the Dakotas and noted the conditional permits of other pipeline companies. County participants stressed that the Iowa Utilities Commission must rule on any amendments or route changes before eminent domain or related legal processes proceed.
Karen Seis, who identified herself as a resident of Anderson Township, told the board that a recent 5‑mile opening tied to the Trailblazer/Tallgrass project in Mills County increases the chance Summit could seek to move west through the county. She urged supervisors to consider a full moratorium on new energy projects while the county evaluates ordinances and protections for landowners, water and mineral rights.
A Mills County landowner described having three pipelines cross roughly five acres of a 20‑acre parcel, saying easements limit how the land may be used and that pipeline companies pay no property taxes while landowners continue to be taxed on the full property value. The landowner said property owners receive little to no ongoing compensation and that easements can be effectively permanent unless the signed documents state otherwise.
Supervisors agreed to publicize a pipeline safety meeting in Shenandoah in June and encouraged landowners to attend. No formal county ordinance or moratorium was adopted at the meeting; speakers asked staff and supervisors to study options and report back.
The board accepted public comment on the topic and did not take further formal action at this meeting.
