A ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines was approved by the Iowa House of Representatives Wednesday, with the support of lawmakers serving Webster County.

The bill passed on a 64-28 vote, with seven representatives absent or not voting.

State representatives Wendy Larson, R-Odebolt, and Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, voted for it.

“I think it’s very important to protect property rights against a private company,” Meyer said Wednesday evening.

“Just to be clear, I’m not against the pipeline,” she added. “I’m against the use of eminent domain for it.”

Summit Carbon Solutions has proposed a pipeline that would carry carbon dioxide gas away from Iowa ethanol plants to North Dakota, where it would be stored underground.

The Iowa Utilities Commission gave the company the right to use eminent domain to acquire land from unwilling sellers. When eminent domain is used, a buyer gets a piece of land appraised, pays the owner that amount and takes ownership of the land.

The proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline route goes through Webster County.

“I didn’t have one landowner in Webster County that reached out to me and said vote against this bill,” Meyer said.

Larson did not return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday evening.

The debate over the bill lasted about 35 minutes, according to Meyer.

The bill now goes to the state Senate.

In the Senate, a bill has been introduced that would allow the corridor of the proposed pipeline to be expanded in a move that may eliminate the need to use eminent domain. Proponents of the bill say a wider corridor would enable the company to reach landowners willing to have the pipeline on their ground while avoiding those who do not want it.