Iowa landowners facing the prospect of eminent domain seizure of their property for Summit Carbon’s proposed CO2 pipeline on Tuesday staged a “photo protest” at the Iowa State Capitol, displaying images of their families and farms threatened by the risky project as a means to pressure State Senators and Gov. Kim Reynolds to take action to protect property rights.
Iowa Senators and Gov. Reynolds have the power to heed landowners’ calls and pass a law yet this session that would prohibit the abuse of eminent domain for carbon pipelines, which has already passed with support of the Iowa House. The photos that landowners carried with them to present at the Capitol today are intended to show the leaders of Iowa all of what they fear could be lost should the Senate and Governor fail to act now to protect property rights.
Kathy Carter, a Floyd County landowner stated, “We aren’t going to be ignored by our elected officials any longer. We won’t be hung out to dry with everything we love on the line. If they are willing to destroy our family legacies for the benefit of a private corporation, then we’re willing to make sure their legacies as legislators end in the next election.”
“Our leaders need to see what’s at stake if they refuse to act. This is about more than just dirt — it’s our lives, our livelihoods, and our legacies being sacrificed,” said Julie Glade, a Wright County landowner.
A similar law banning eminent domain for CO2 pipelines was just signed into law in South Dakota, after being cemented with a resounding victory at the ballot last November. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission also last week rejected Summit’s permit application for a second time, leaving the company with no path to its proposed sequestration site in North Dakota.
“Why should Iowans have fewer rights than South Dakotans? If South Dakota can stand up and say no to corporate land grabs, then anyone standing in the way of Iowa doing the same is throwing their constituents under the bus,” said Emma Schmit, Pipeline Fighters Director, Bold Alliance.
“No Iowan should have to beg their government to protect their land from a private pipeline company. We’re demanding our leaders choose the people over corporate greed and pass HF 639,” said Jessica Mazour, Conservation Coordinator, Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club.
