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Jun 18, 2023

Federal pipeline regulators hear Iowans’ safety concerns

Speakers share fears and frustrations about proposed CO2 pipelines

May. 31, 2023 5:47 pm

DES MOINES — Many Iowans want federal regulators to expect more from carbon dioxide capture pipeline developers, and trust the companies less when it comes to policing their own systems.

That was a theme of the first day of a two-day meeting with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which regulates the 2.6 million miles of natural gas and hazardous materials pipelines in the United States. Opponents of three proposed CO2 pipelines in Iowa asked the administration to hold a public meeting in Iowa — the epicenter for carbon dioxide capture and sequestration — and many people at the meeting Wednesday thanked the regulators for listening.

"We’re really hoping as government agencies, you’re able to set setback distances because relying on third parties to get these pipelines in as quickly as possible isn't in the safety interest of the people affected," speaker Dr. Meredith McKean told a panel that included representatives from the pipeline administration, Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

The Iowa Utilities Board regulates pipeline siting and routes in the state, but the feds set standards for hazardous pipelines, regulate them once built and investigate incidents, such as explosions or leaks.

Two of the three developers — Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator CO2 Ventures — are asking Iowa regulators for eminent domain powers to force unwilling landowners to grant easements. Wolf Carbon Solutions, whose proposed route includes ADM ethanol plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton, is not asking for the authority.

Mary McDaniel, assistant director of the Pipeline Safety Gas Service Division of the pipeline agency, told an audience of several hundred people gathered at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Des Moines that the agency has beefed up its requirements for pipeline operators to document potential damage caused by earthquakes or landslides. The 2020 rupture of a CO2 pipeline in Satartia, Miss., that sent 45 people to the hospital was caused, in part, by heavy rain eroding a hillside along the pipeline route.

"It's still kind of a learning curve with a lot of us. How many strings can be put on pipelines is something that's been evolving over the last couple of years," McDaniel said.

Travis Hallam, the pipeline director at Three Affiliated Tribes, based in North Dakota, said the tribes put additional requirements on pipeline projects that pump crude oil from the Bakken region. Pipelines on tribal lands were buried deeper and have independent third-party inspections, he said. Hallam also advised Iowa to require a baseline X-ray inspection of pipelines before they go into operation and inspections every three years instead of five.

"You have to insist on that safety because there will be people who put monetary value over safety," Hallam said.

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Companies that get permits for the CO2 pipelines stand to gain billions of dollars in federal tax credits granted because some scientists think carbon sequestration may help reduce the impact of climate change.

Many of the audience members want to halt pipeline projects completely. They reacted with dismay when Kevin Dooley, a carbon transport engineer with the Energy Department, said the U.S. government expects there will be up to 60,000 miles of CO2 pipelines — up from about 5,000 miles now — to meet the Biden administration's goal of being net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

"60,000 miles of pipe?" said Sherri Webb, a Shelby County landowner. "That's awful."

Tensions rose late in the day when Dan Wahl, of Spirit Lake, asked the pipeline administration to establish setbacks for where pipelines can be built from homes, schools and other facilities. Wahl is facing a lawsuit by Summit Carbon Solutions, which is seeking an injunction to prohibit landowners from interfering with surveys for a proposed CO2 pipeline in western and north-central Iowa.

"Who is going to stand up and take responsibility?" Wahl said. "What does it take to issue a moratorium?"

The pipeline administration can't create setback distances, but it can require additional safety regulations in areas near the pipeline route. That answer didn't sit well with the audience, which rumbled with comments like "would you want this under your house?" and "the right people are never in the room." Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety Alan Mayberry approached the mic.

"We wanted to be here to see what was on your mind," he said. "I assure you, even if it's not something we can do, we’ll get the information to the right people."

A protest scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday outside the Marriott did not gather many supporters because most opponents were in the meeting, but some people stood on the street with signs.

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