Todd Dorman
Feb. 23, 2023 9:33 am
Iowa is a state that can’t say no to the ethanol industry. And that leaves some Republican lawmakers in a terrible fix.
That’s because many of their rural constituents are vehemently opposed to taking land through eminent domain for three carbon capture pipelines proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions. The companies want to build nearly 2,000 miles of pipelines that would capture carbon generated by ethanol plants to be stored underground.
On Tuesday, a House panel signed off on a bill, House File 368, which would require the companies obtain voluntary easements along 90 percent of a pipeline’s path before they could use eminent domain power to obtain the rest. The bill also would slap a moratorium on projects until the federal government completes a rewrite of safety rules that govern carbon pipelines.
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Also, pipeline projects must conform to local ordinances and laws in other states before they would get an all clear from Iowa regulators.
The lead sponsor, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said he’s long supported ethanol. “But there are bigger principles here,” Holt said, namely property rights.
Holt’s bill is entirely reasonable. It should be far more difficult to use what he called the “blunt force of government” to take land for a private project. And it’s irresponsible to shove these projects forward before safety rules have been finalized.
Yep, totally reasonable. So it probably won’t pass.
That’s because the ethanol industry has upped the ante. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association released a study it commissioned showing that, without the pipelines, Iowa would lose 75 percent of its ethanol industry and $10.3 billion in revenues annually. Corn prices would drop. The cost of getting ethanol byproducts used as livestock feed would rise.
The skies would darken. The earth would quake. The Capitol’s Golden Dome would rust. OK, maybe not.
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So, basically, if lawmakers act to protect landowners, they’ll be ending ethanol as we know it. Instead, the industry wants the Legislature to let companies take land, grab billions of dollars in federal tax credits and make ethanol into a lower carbon fuel that can be marketed in a world seeking to restrict emissions to halt climate change.
Ethanol is saved. Well, until the next time the industry needs to be propped up by government action. We’ve been doing this dance since the 1970s. It all would be easier to swallow if farmers and landowners also were willing to accept regulations directing them to keep our waterways clean. But they want it all, blank checks and no rules. Oh, and a dead zone. King Corn is a dictator.
And that’s probably what they’ll get again. Holt’s approach has not been embraced by the Senate. And can you envision Gov. Kim Reynolds picking people over the profitability of corporate agriculture? I doubt even AI could generate such a scenario. Although I agree with Steve Holt, so anything’s possible.
Wouldn’t it be remarkable to see the Legislature do something big that doesn’t make many of us cringe or seethe? The skies would darken … OK, you get the picture.
www.thegazette.com
Feb. 23, 2023 9:33 am
Iowa is a state that can’t say no to the ethanol industry. And that leaves some Republican lawmakers in a terrible fix.
That’s because many of their rural constituents are vehemently opposed to taking land through eminent domain for three carbon capture pipelines proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions. The companies want to build nearly 2,000 miles of pipelines that would capture carbon generated by ethanol plants to be stored underground.
On Tuesday, a House panel signed off on a bill, House File 368, which would require the companies obtain voluntary easements along 90 percent of a pipeline’s path before they could use eminent domain power to obtain the rest. The bill also would slap a moratorium on projects until the federal government completes a rewrite of safety rules that govern carbon pipelines.
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Also, pipeline projects must conform to local ordinances and laws in other states before they would get an all clear from Iowa regulators.
The lead sponsor, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said he’s long supported ethanol. “But there are bigger principles here,” Holt said, namely property rights.
Holt’s bill is entirely reasonable. It should be far more difficult to use what he called the “blunt force of government” to take land for a private project. And it’s irresponsible to shove these projects forward before safety rules have been finalized.
Yep, totally reasonable. So it probably won’t pass.
That’s because the ethanol industry has upped the ante. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association released a study it commissioned showing that, without the pipelines, Iowa would lose 75 percent of its ethanol industry and $10.3 billion in revenues annually. Corn prices would drop. The cost of getting ethanol byproducts used as livestock feed would rise.
The skies would darken. The earth would quake. The Capitol’s Golden Dome would rust. OK, maybe not.
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So, basically, if lawmakers act to protect landowners, they’ll be ending ethanol as we know it. Instead, the industry wants the Legislature to let companies take land, grab billions of dollars in federal tax credits and make ethanol into a lower carbon fuel that can be marketed in a world seeking to restrict emissions to halt climate change.
Ethanol is saved. Well, until the next time the industry needs to be propped up by government action. We’ve been doing this dance since the 1970s. It all would be easier to swallow if farmers and landowners also were willing to accept regulations directing them to keep our waterways clean. But they want it all, blank checks and no rules. Oh, and a dead zone. King Corn is a dictator.
And that’s probably what they’ll get again. Holt’s approach has not been embraced by the Senate. And can you envision Gov. Kim Reynolds picking people over the profitability of corporate agriculture? I doubt even AI could generate such a scenario. Although I agree with Steve Holt, so anything’s possible.
Wouldn’t it be remarkable to see the Legislature do something big that doesn’t make many of us cringe or seethe? The skies would darken … OK, you get the picture.
Opinion: It’s property rights vs. ethanol in Iowa. Bet on King Corn
Kim Junker, a farmer from Butler County, speaks during a rally held by opponents to proposed carbon capture pipelines in …
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