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Eminent domain bill to give landowners more legal options advancing for first time in Iowa Senate
The Senate has been hesitant to take up such legislation
Erin Murphy
Apr. 9, 2024 6:34 pm
DES MOINES — Iowa landowners would have an additional legal avenue to protest their land being used with the government’s blessing for a private company’s hazardous liquid pipeline under legislation that advanced Tuesday in the Iowa Senate.
The proposal was approved earlier this year by the full Iowa House, where Republicans have been vocal proponents of reigning in the use of eminent domain for private projects like the carbon dioxide capture pipelines that have been proposed in Iowa.
The Iowa Senate, on the other hand, has been far more hesitant to take action on eminent domain since the pipeline projects were announced — until Tuesday.
“The Senate has a few different views within the (Republican) caucus that are not unreasonable,” Sen. Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig who conducted a hearing on the bill Tuesday at the Iowa Capitol, told reporters.
“I respect my colleagues, and they’ve got some issues, broader, with the bill,” Schultz said, listing opposition points like deference to current processes for challenging eminent domain, and support for the CO2 pipeline projects by corn growers and renewable fuels advocates. “We have respectable positions that we’ve all looked at each other and expressed and exchanged. I’m going to respect those. But I have mine, and I think landowner rights and eminent domain rise right to the top.”
The bill would allow individuals or companies to ask a court to review whether forced easements are warranted in a pending pipeline case. Supporters said it would expand the rights of landowners and clear up constitutional questions about eminent domain authority for hazardous liquid pipelines.
Roughly 20 landowners spoke during Tuesday’s hearing, some through tears as they described their attempts to prevent a pipeline from going through their property.
Jess Mazour, coordinator of conservation for the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the proposed bill helps provide legal balance in eminent domain disputes.
“This bill doesn’t kill ethanol, and unfortunately this bill doesn’t stop the pipelines. But it levels the playing field. That’s what we’re asking you to do this year: level the playing field so that we have a fair shot,” Mazour said.
Eminent domain and pipelines
The bill came out of opposition to the construction of underground pipelines that would capture carbon dioxide emitted at ethanol plants and store it underground out of state, taking advantage of lucrative federal tax credits.
Summit Carbon Solutions, the company furthest along in the process, is awaiting a decision from the Iowa Utilities Board on its application for a pipeline involving five states, including more than 700 miles in Iowa. Summit has asked regulators to grant it eminent domain authority to take land along the route where it has not obtained voluntary easements.
Wolf Carbon Solutions is proposing a much smaller pipeline in Eastern Iowa, including Linn County, but the company has said it does not plan to use eminent domain for its construction.
The proposal, House File 2664, would allow either a landowner or a company applying for a permit from the utilities board to ask a court to review whether eminent domain is warranted in that situation.
Legislative proposal’s future
All three members of the panel considering the bill Tuesday — Republican Sens. Schultz and Dan Dawson, and Democratic Sen. Herman Quirmbach — signed off on advancing it. It is now eligible for consideration by the Senate committee on tax policy.
Schultz said the proposal will need changes if it has a chance to pass the Senate. He said one element that has to be altered would allow landowners to start a new lawsuit if more than 18 months have passed since a previous legal challenge. Schultz said that would enable individuals to delay pipeline projects indefinitely.
“That’s poor policy. I don’t like the (pipeline) project going forward, but at the same time we’re not here to just give a backdoor killer bill. I want good policy,” Schultz said.
The bill previously passed the House, 86-7. All present Democrats voted in favor, and seven Republicans voted no.
Both chambers must approve the bill before it can be sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her consideration. Reynolds has not said whether she would sign eminent domain restrictions.
Caleb McCullough of The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report.
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com