Summit Carbon Solutions, developer of one of the two carbon capture pipelines proposed to cross through Webster County, told the Webster County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that it has obtained nearly three-quarters of the needed voluntary easements from property owners along the pipeline’s path in the county.

The proposed carbon pipeline’s purpose will be to capture carbon emissions from 32 ethanol plants — including 12 in Iowa — and transport the carbon to a location in North Dakota, where it can be permanently sequestered. Just under 28 miles of the pipeline would pass through the eastern third of Webster County, according to the most recent route map provided by Summit.

Riley Gibson, a spokesperson for Summit from Turnkey Logistics, presented the update to the board on Tuesday.

According to Gibson, as of Feb. 8, Summit has acquired voluntary easements from property owners along 22.46 miles of the route through Webster County, which is 73.27 percent of the current 27.94-mile route.

“So far in the county, up to this point, we’ve spent $6.8 million on easements,” Gibson said.

Across the state, he said, Summit has almost 65 percent of the needed voluntary easements.

Many landowners over the last two years have opposed the project and the possibility that the Iowa Utilities Board could grant Summit eminent domain on the pieces of property that the company is not able to acquire voluntary easements for. During its April 26, 2022, meeting, the Board of Supervisors signed a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board to record its objection to the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipeline projects.

If the remaining landowners impacted by the proposed pipeline’s route do not enter into voluntary easement agreements with Summit, Summit will have to ask the Iowa Utilities Board to grant eminent domain, which allows the government to take private property for public use.

Gibson said Summit is continuing to work with landowners and plans to keep working with landowners to acquire the remaining voluntary easements.

“We’re very optimistic that we’re going to be able to continue to work with landowners,” he said. “Our goal has been 100% voluntary [easements] from the very beginning, so we’re going to keep working for that.”

Gibson also discussed the federal regulations Summit must adhere to, including building the pipeline with low alloy-high strength carbon steel, installing the underground pipeline a minimum of 12 inches away from any other underground structures and regularly inspecting and assessing the pipeline. He also noted that a new regulation added last year will require safety block valves placed at every 20 miles or less. In Webster County, there will be four of these valves, which will monitor the pressure inside the pipeline and seal if there is a leak or rupture detected, Gibson said.

Gibson said Summit’s permit hearing with the IUB will be in October, and if approved, the company plans to begin pipeline construction in the first quarter of 2024.

If built, the Summit pipeline will snake along the eastern side of Webster County, entering south of Vincent, running northwest of Duncombe, south to Lehigh and then southwest between Harcourt and Dayton, before crossing into Boone County.