By SD Searchlight Staff
A company that sought to build a $3 billion carbon sequestration pipeline in South Dakota and several other states announced Friday that it’s giving up on the plan.
“Given the unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa, the Company has decided to cancel its pipeline project,” said a news release from Navigator CO2.
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission unanimously denied a permit for Navigator’s Heartland Greenway project on Sept. 6 after a hearing that lasted from July 25 to Aug. 8.
Since then, Navigator had asked to suspend its permitting process in Iowa and had moved to withdraw its permit application in Illinois.
Friday’s news release from the company included comments from CEO Matt Vining.
“I am proud that throughout this endeavor, our team maintained a collaborative, high integrity, and safety-first approach and we thank them for their tireless efforts,” Vining said. “We also thank all the individuals, trade associations, labor organizations, landowners, and elected officials who supported us and carbon capture in the Midwest.”
A similar but separate proposal from Summit Carbon Solutions to build a carbon sequestration pipeline through South Dakota and other states is still active, even though Summit’s permit application has also been denied in South Dakota. Summit has said it plans to modify its route and reapply.
One of the main points of contention in both the Summit and Navigator permit applications in South Dakota was the passage of county setback ordinances, which mandate minimum distances between pipelines and existing structures and property. Summit’s filing of dozens of eminent domain cases, which the company has since withdrawn, have also been controversial. Eminent domain is a legal process to gain access to land from unwilling landowners.
Navigator did not file any eminent domain cases. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company announced its plans in 2021, hoping to capture carbon dioxide from 21 locations — ethanol and fertilizer plants — and transport it in liquefied form via 1,300 miles of pipe to Illinois for underground sequestration.
In eastern South Dakota, Navigator’s pipeline would have covered 111.9 miles in Brookings, Moody, Minnehaha, Lincoln and Turner counties. Pipeline segments also would have stretched into Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa.
Project backers sought to capitalize on annual federal tax credits of $85 per metric ton of sequestered carbon. The credits are intended to incentivize the removal of carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere.
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