Letters: In response to Terry Branstad and Summit Carbon Solutions

To the editor:

As one of 15,000 landowners impacted by the proposed CO2 pipeline through Iowa, I recently received a letter from our former governor, Terry Branstad. In his letter, Branstad sings the praises of his current employer, Summit Carbon Solutions, and paints carbon capture and sequestration as a harmless process that will boost Iowa's ethanol industry. Having read Branstad's PR piece, I find it to be disingenuous.

The target of his message is the Sierra Club, a well-known environmental group, and he warns landowners not to be "intimidated" by them. While it is true that the Sierra Club is helping an opposition group to organize, none of us were "intimidated" into joining. The Sierra Club is only one entity among many who have come together in opposition to Summit Carbon Solutions and its dangerous, unproven and exorbitantly expensive scheme that will ruin hundreds of miles of prime Iowa farmland.

We are pushing back against the heavy-handed tactics of Branstad and his buddies at Summit. His accusation regarding intimidation by the Sierra Club merely projects tactics Summit Carbon Solutions uses to get signatures on voluntary easements. It began when Summit held rushed and biased informational meetings on short notice during a busy harvest season to present their sales pitch to landowners.

Phone calls from the company's land agents began immediately, subjecting landowners to daily calls and voicemails asking to schedule a meeting. Property owners in all 30 counties along Summit's route have been aggressively pursued for months by Summit to get their signatures on survey permits and permanent easements. Most landowners objecting to the pipeline did not schedule meetings. I refused to meet with the land agents, but requested a map of the route through our property. I was told permission for a map was denied because I had not "shown a willingness to work with the project."

By agreeing to Summit's easements, property owners sign away much more than consent for the company to build a pipeline. An easement will be in effect even if the proposed pipeline is not approved. It gives Summit permission to access the property at any time without the landowner's knowledge or permission. The easement can be sold or mortgaged to a third party – even a foreign entity like China – without the landowner's knowledge or consent. Also concerning is the fact that it can also be used for things other than the intended purpose. Years later, an easement may create difficulties with title and ownership changes.

Branstad's letter warns about the Sierra Club being "long gone" after the pipeline battle. This may or may not be true and seems irrelevant. More to the point, is Summit Carbon Solutions in this for the long haul? Knowing that easements can be sold to third parties, and considering Summit Carbon Solutions is an investment company whose primary purpose is making a profit, landowners need much more than word-of-mouth assurance that the company will honor its commitment for the duration of the contract. Years from now, will Summit be here to fix broken tiles, repair ruined topsoil, and take responsibility for ruptured CO2 pipelines? Or, will Summit be "long gone," leaving landowners liable for damages to land, people, and property?

Carbon capture and sequestrations is far from being a safe process. The product running through the lines will not be the harmless CO2 gas that Summit portrays. By the time it reaches the pipeline, the CO2 gas will have been converted to a liquid state under thousands of pounds of super-critical pressure. This liquid CO2 is an asphyxiant and caustic agent, rated toxic and hazardous by OSHA. When mixed with water, liquid CO2 forms carbonic acid, which is dangerously poisonous and corrosive.

In the event of a ruptured line, exposed individuals can be unconscious in less than one minute. Scientific risk assessments show a harmful threshold up to 4.2 miles from a broken line. Summit is allowing a mere 500-foot safe-distance from occupied buildings. A test of a ruptured CO2 pipeline can be seen on video at the end of this link: https://www.dnv.com/oilgas/laboratories-test-sites/dense-phase-spadeadam-video.html.

The proposed pipeline, carries a price tag of $4.5 billion to be funded by the government as part of the Infrastructure Law. After acquiring Iowa farmland through voluntary easements or eminent domain, Summit Carbon Solutions and its investors stand to make billions of dollars in carbon credits when the CO2 is sequestered in North Dakota.

Branstad closes his letter by reminding us that he was Iowa's governor for 22 years and says he's "always fought for things Iowa holds dear." I am well aware of his record, as I voted for him. However, he's no longer the governor and he obviously doesn't have Iowa's best interest at heart. Branstad is merely a lobbyist involved in a boondoggle with an investment company that plans to use public money to take private property for personal profit. Terry Branstad and Summit Carbon Solutions' plan to run 700 miles of CO2 pipeline through Iowa farmland must be stopped. I, and many other Iowa landowners, will not be signing the easements.

Bonnie Ewoldt,

Milford