Today the Public Utilities Commission hosts the first of five public input meetings concerning Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposal to lay 469 miles of pipeline across East River to carry carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota up to an underground sequestration site in central North Dakota. The commissioners (with State Treasurer Josh Haeder replacing Commissioner Kristie Fiegen due to Fiegen’s declared conflict of interest from pipe proposed to cross her sister-in-law’s land) will take public input today in Onida, then Wednesday in Sioux Falls, Thursday in Dell Rapids and Redfield, and Friday in Aberdeen:
- Tuesday, March 22, 2022, 5:30 p.m.: Sully Buttes High School gym, 500 S. 8th St., Onida.
- Wednesday, March 23, 5:30 p.m.: Ramkota Conference Center Washington Room, 3200 W. Maple Street, Sioux Falls.
- Thursday, March 24, noon: DeSmet Event Center, 705 Wilder Lane, DeSmet.
- Thursday, March 24, 5: 30 p.m.: Redfield School auditorium, 111 E. 6th Ave., Redfield.
- Friday, March 25, noon: Ramkota Hotel Northern Room, 1400 8th Ave. NW, Aberdeen.
Summit Carbon Solutions will present dog and pony first; then the PUC will hear views, comments, and questions from any interested persons. Of course, you don’t want to go popping off about problems with the CO2 pipeline that don’t exist the way Senator Lee Schoenbeck did, so do your homework first: you can read Summit Carbon Solutions’ application— complete with total route map, alternative routes, topographical maps, soil maps, land use maps, and reports on wetlands and threatened and endangered species—in PUC Docket HP22-001.
The PUC’s notice of these public hearings also includes notice that the deadline to apply for the newly harder-to-get party status in this CO2 pipeline permit application process is April 8. You don’t need party status to speak at this week’s meetings; you just need party status to participate in the formal hearings before the PUC (testifying, submitting evidence, cross-examining witnesses, filing motions, and preserving your right to appeal the PUC’s decision in court).