Letters: Be wary of pipeline agreements

To the editor:

Summit Carbon Solutions is running large ads to tell us they care. I personally believe someone cares when they show me. Actions speak much louder than Summit’s ads. So far, their actions show they do not care about anyone. They only care about raking in your tax dollars. They are not paying for this hazardous pipeline. Your tax dollars are supporting it.

I am a landowner in Kossuth County affected by this hazardous CO2 pipeline. I recently received an increased offer and easement to sign. Landowners receiving these easements need to read them carefully.

While the permanent easement lasts forever, the temporary easement lasts until you receive notification from Summit that it is terminated. The easement agreement could easily state the temporary ends in a year or two. But it doesn’t and they won’t give a specific date or even say when construction is complete.

The easement states the pipeline will not exceed 24” in diameter. From the map I was given, a 16” pipe will be installed on my land. There is nothing in the easement to prevent them from digging it up and installing a larger pipe at a later date. In case you are wondering why the temporary easement doesn’t end until they notify you.

Read the access easement closely. If you sign, they can access the easement from any driveway you own and drive across your crops, fields, pasture, etc. at any time. They will have access to all property you own adjacent to the Easement.

Take your time reading the section about Location. Once you sign, they can move the easement location anywhere. They do not need your approval. They could move it to a location that is even more of a hardship for the landowner to farm around or even within 50 feet of your home.

They pay you one time upfront for any damages. The Landowner or tenant is paid before any construction begins. If you sign and accept, you gave up all your rights to any future claims if your land yields less for the next 5, 10 or 15 years.

On the map of the proposed route, pay close attention to the Legend. If you have an area marked ATWS (additional temporary work space), they are paying you nothing for that area. They need additional space to dig a huge hole so they can bore under the road. If Summit really cared, they would tell you what is happening in that area and give you money for it.

I won’t even go into details about the problems caused by cutting tile lines and then trying to prove Summit caused the damage in a few years. If you can’t prove Summit caused the damage, they won’t pay. You are not allowed on the easement during construction so it would be difficult to have photographic evidence of the problems they caused.

They also refuse to say how hazardous this pipeline can be. They tell you it’s the same as the fizz in your pop. There is a definite difference between drinking CO2 in pop and inhaling CO2 from a ruptured pipeline. One makes me burp. The other can kill me. The air we breathe is only 0.04 percent CO2. The pipeline is 100% CO2. What if your child, grandchild, or friend’s child is on a school bus when this ruptures along highway or road in your county? The CO2 will turn to a gas and it is an asphyxiant. It will stall the school bus and has the potential to kill everyone onboard. Unlike natural gas which goes up and dissipates, CO2 hangs in the air close to the ground. As little as a 10% concentration has the power to kill people, pets and livestock. Summit says it will quickly dissipate. Tell that to the people in Satartia, Mississippi where the CO2 hung in the air for hours after a pipeline rupture a mile from their town.

Nancy Erickson,

Algona, IA