(Radio Iowa) - The Iowa Utilities Board has unanimously approved the proposed route for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, but the company must meet other requirements before construction may begin.
All three members of the Iowa Utilities Board agree the public benefits of the project outweigh the private and public costs. That clears the way for Summit to -- eventually -- use eminent domain authority to force landowners who've resisted the project to let the pipeline through their property. The board's order says Summit must get approval from South and North Dakota regulators for its pipeline route in those states, plus approval in North Dakota for the underground site where carbon is to be shipped and stored before construction may begin.
A group of landowners who do not want the pipeline on their property say they will file a lawsuit. Republicans in the Iowa House say they plan to propose an update to Iowa's law on eminent domain.