Eminent domain bill advances in the Iowa House

By Jared Strong

Legislation that would enable people to ask a court to decide whether a pipeline project deserves the power of eminent domain was approved by an Iowa House committee on Tuesday.

House File 2522 is a diluted version of its initial incarnation, which would have allowed state legislators to halt the proceedings of hazardous liquid pipeline permits. Instead, it now gives people the opportunity to challenge the legitimacy of eminent domain proceedings in Polk County District Court before a ruling from state regulators.

The Iowa Utilities Board is poised to rule on such a request from Summit Carbon Solutions, which made its request for a permit more than two years ago for its sprawling carbon dioxide pipeline system. Another company, Wolf Carbon Solutions, is also seeking to build a shorter pipeline system in eastern Iowa. They both intend to transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol plants out of state for underground sequestration.

“This is the fifth time that we have passed a piece of legislation regarding eminent domain,” said Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, chairperson of the Ways and Means Committee in the House.

The bill isn’t as far reaching as other past legislation that would have required carbon dioxide pipeline companies to acquire voluntary land easements for at least 90% of their routes before being eligible for eminent domain, which was adopted by the House but died in the Senate. The process allows the companies to obtain forced easements from unwilling landowners to build and operate their pipelines if they are given a permit and permission from the IUB.

The new bill would allow landowners and pipeline companies to seek earlier court decisions about whether eminent domain is appropriate for utility projects. As the law stands now, those who oppose pipeline projects must wait until the IUB rules on a permit and then challenge it in court. Opponents of the projects want state lawmakers to make it easier to appeal the IUB’s decisions in court.

“If the Iowa Utilities Board approves Summit or Wolf, we know that we’re going to appeal,” said Jess Mazour, of the Sierra Club of Iowa. “Right now in Iowa law, if you appeal, the only way to stop construction while you’re working your case through the court is to put up hundreds of millions of dollars as a bond.”

State legislators didn’t say Tuesday whether they would make court appeals easier, but they approved the bill unanimously in committee. It’s unclear when the whole House might take up the bill.

The bill allows people to file court petitions in counties other than Polk 18 months after an initial application or if the circumstances of their case “materially” change.

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