The hearing is being held in Fort Dodge because it is considered the midpoint of the 688 mile pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, according to Erik Helland, the chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board.

It began Tuesday and will continue through the fall, although it will not be in session every day.

Opposition to the pipeline has united people from across the political spectrum, including staunchly conservative former U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Republican from Kiron, and the Sierra Club.

King stood among the Sierra Club members and other pipeline opponents during a press conference held outside Fort Frenzy, 3232 First Ave. S. Tuesday morning before the hearing. One of the major concerns about the pipeline project – the potential use of eminent domain to get the needed land – was made clear during the press conference. Eminent domain would enable Summit Carbon Solutions to take land from unwilling sellers, paying them a price determined by appraisers.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Iowa Utilities Board chair Erik Helland listens to an attorney Tuesday morning during the board's meeting on a proposed CO2 pipeline held at the Cardiff Event Center in Fort Frenzy.

“We are here today because we are fighting to protect our land,” said Tim Baughman, a fourth generation landowner in Crawford County.

Summit Carbon Solutions, he said, wants to “take and forever control our land.”

The pipeline, he said, is a “scam that won’t benefit anyone but a few investors.”

“If the IUB listens carefully, it will become clear that this hazardous pipeline serves no public purpose,” Baughman said.

He led nearly 100 people in chanting “No eminent domain for private gain.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Tim Baughman, of Dennison, speaks to a group of pipeline opponents Tuesday morning before the start of an Iowa Utilities Board meeting on the project at the Cardiff Event Center in Fort Frenzy,

Shelby County Supervisor Steve Kenkel said the landowners opposed to the pipeline are “looking for nothing more than respect.”

He asserted that 78 percent of Iowans agree that eminent domain should not be used for private gain, although he did not cite a source for that figure.

The issue of eminent domain did not come up as the IUB began its work Tuesday morning inside the Cardiff Center at Fort Frenzy.

Helland said there are 50 parties involved in the case. The list includes Summit Carbon Solutions, the state’s Office of Consumer Advocate, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, the Sierra Club, Iowans for a Growing Agricultural Economy, the Great Plains Labor Federation, Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, various counties and multiple landowners.

Early in the proceedings, the three board members — Helland, Joshua Byrnes and Sarah Martz — went behind closed doors to consider if an attorney facing a possible ethics complaint should be allowed to continue representing one of the parties. The board members came back after about 15 minutes and ruled that the attorney could continue.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Tim Baughman, of Dennison, speaks to a group of pipeline opponents Tuesday morning before the start of an Iowa Utilities Board meeting on the project at the Cardiff Event Center in Fort Frenzy.

The board also dismissed some motions calling for the entire process to be postponed.

Security was fairly tight at Fort Frenzy, with Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener, several Fort Dodge police officers and private guards on hand. People coming into the hearing had to empty their pockets and be scanned by a guard with a portable metal detector.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
A group of pipeline opponents gather Tuesday morning outside the Cardiff Event Center at Fort Frenzy before going inside for an Iowa Utilities Board meeting on the project.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Audience members in opposition to a proposed CO2 pipeline wait for the Iowa Utilities Board meeting on the project to get started Tuesday morning at the Cardiff Event Center.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Former U.S. Representative Steve King talks with an attendee at the Iowa Utilities Board meeting in the Cardiff Event Center Tuesday to discuss plans for a proposed CO2 pipeline.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Several audience members listen Tuesday afternoon during an Iowa Utilities Board hearing on proposed CO2 pipeline at the Cardiff Event Center at Fort Frenzy.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Iowa Utilities Board chair Erik Helland explains the format for the procedures Tuesday morning during the board's meeting on a proposed CO2 pipeline held at the Cardiff Event Center in Fort Frenzy.