LETTER: The New Battle for Rural America – Standing Up to Summit’s Bullying and Betrayal

The quiet heartland of America has always been a place of strength, resilience, and pride. Small towns, family farms, and generational land—these are not just property lines or dusty roads; they are the backbone of this nation. But now, that backbone is under attack. Not from foreign enemies or outside forces, but from the very corporations and governments who claim to stand for freedom. Summit Carbon Solutions, with its dangerous CO2 pipeline and its deep-pocketed backers, is the face of this modern betrayal.

For three years, Summit has waged war on rural America, trampling over everything we hold sacred:

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Private Property Rights

Generational farmland—land that families have worked for decades, if not centuries—has become a mere obstacle for Summit to bulldoze in its quest for profits. But this isn’t just a rural issue. The destruction of private property rights in Iowa sets a dangerous precedent that will ripple far beyond the cornfields.

Imagine a young couple in a suburban neighborhood. They saved for years to buy their dream home with a backyard where their kids play. One day, a multi-billion-dollar corporation decides they want a pipeline through the neighborhood. They offer you money, and if you don’t agree, they’ll use eminent domain to take it anyway. Your voice doesn’t matter. Your land doesn’t matter. Your investment—your life—is treated as expendable for corporate gain.

If this can happen to Iowa’s farmers today, it can happen to urban homeowners tomorrow. Your backyard, your small business, your community park—it’s all fair game when corporate greed and government power combine.

This is not about rural versus urban. This is about all of us.

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The Safety of Small-Town America

We have been denied answers, denied truth, and denied transparency about the very real dangers of this CO2 pipeline. Central to the concern is the plume—a deadly, invisible cloud of concentrated CO2 that would spread rapidly if a pipeline ruptures.

When CO2 leaks, it behaves differently than a typical gas leak. It doesn’t disperse harmlessly. It sinks to low-lying areas, displacing oxygen in the air. This means vehicles will stall. First responders may be unable to approach. People, animals, and plants in the area can suffocate in minutes without warning.

We know this because it has happened before. In 2020, a CO2 pipeline ruptured in Satartia, Mississippi, releasing a massive plume that blanketed the area. Cars stopped mid-road as engines failed, families ran for their lives, and first responders described an invisible fog of panic. Over 40 people were hospitalized.

Yet Summit refuses to release detailed plume studies. Why? Because the truth would terrify the public. If this pipeline is so safe, what are they hiding? The refusal to share essential safety data isn’t oversight—it’s deception. It’s an admission that this pipeline puts lives in real danger.

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Summit’s New Tactic: Bullying Ordinary Citizens

Summit’s disregard for property rights and safety is shameful enough, but now they have sunk even lower. Facing growing opposition from Iowa landowners, farmers, and activists, Summit has resorted to targeting and threatening private citizens.

Imagine speaking up at a public meeting—your voice trembling, but your resolve strong. You share your story. You talk about your family farm, your community, and your fears about the pipeline’s safety. You ask questions. You demand answers.

And then, days later, you receive a letter in the mail—a cease-and-desist order.

That is exactly what Summit is doing. Citizens who dared to voice their opposition at public meetings—ordinary Iowans with no political power, no corporate backing, and limited resources—are being silenced and intimidated. Summit’s cease-and-desist letters are designed to scare people into submission, threatening legal action against those who question their pipeline.

Think about how grotesque this is: A multi-billion-dollar corporation, backed by international investors and government tax credits, is bullying Iowa farmers and small-town families who are simply exercising their First Amendment rights. Summit claims to champion progress, but their progress is built on threats, lawsuits, and silencing dissent.

This is not the behavior of a company working in good faith. It is the behavior of a bully—one that knows the “little guy” cannot match their war chest of lawyers and endless legal resources.

It is tyranny by intimidation.

Summit doesn’t want your questions. They don’t want accountability. And they certainly don’t want the public to know just how fragile their entire scheme is. Because if the opposition grows loud enough, their profits—built on the shaky foundation of government handouts—could collapse.

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A Scheme Fueled by Government-Backed Greed

Let’s call this what it is: Summit Carbon Solutions is a multi-billion-dollar corporation whose entire pipeline scheme hinges on you, the taxpayer. This isn’t about innovation or market-driven solutions. Summit’s profits exist only because of government handouts through the 45Q and 45Z tax credits—a grotesque misuse of taxpayer dollars.

45Q Tax Credit: Summit receives massive payouts for “capturing and storing” CO2, regardless of the dangers or the communities trampled along the way.

45Z Tax Credit: This pipeline claims to prop up ethanol production, leveraging another federal incentive designed to encourage low-carbon fuels.

Let’s put it plainly:

Summit is using taxpayer money to sue taxpayers for the right to take taxpayer land to turn a profit that wouldn’t even exist without taxpayer-funded subsidies.

It’s absurd. It’s illogical. And it’s despicable.

This isn’t capitalism. This isn’t innovation. This is corporate welfare disguised as progress. Summit isn’t solving a problem; they’re inventing one so they can cash in on the government’s blank check. Meanwhile, Iowa farmers, landowners, and families are the ones being sued, threatened, and silenced for daring to stand up.

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The Final Battle for Rural America

Summit and its allies are counting on one thing: that we will back down. That ordinary Iowans, farmers, and small-town families will surrender because we don’t have their deep pockets or their political power. But they are wrong.

We are not collateral damage.

We are not expendable.

We are the heartbeat of this nation. We are the farmers who feed America. We are the small towns that hold it together. And we will not bow to corporate bullies and government betrayal.

To Summit: You will not silence us with your threats.

To our politicians: You will not escape accountability for your betrayal.

To the citizens of Iowa and America: This is your call to action.

This is about more than one pipeline. This is about defending the rights of every American. It’s about demanding a government that works for its people, not its corporate donors.

And to President Trump: We need your help now. You were elected by the hardworking people of this nation—the very people being trampled by Summit and ignored by their government. Stand with us, Mr. President. Let Iowa’s fight be America’s fight.

This is not just a pipeline. This is a war for the soul of rural America. To every farmer, landowner, and citizen who refuses to bow to Summit’s threats: Hold the line.

God bless Iowa. God bless the land of the free. And God help us all if we fail to rise.

The time to fight is now.

– Bryan Frye