Landowners in North Dakota who challenged a state law on property rights for underground “pore space” used to potentially store carbon dioxide declared victory on Tuesday, after a district court judge ruled in their favor and found the law to be unconstitutional.
The Northwest Landowners Association, a landowner-led citizen group, sued the state of North Dakota and the state’s Industrial Commission, challenging a law that said landowners could be forced to allow CO2 storage beneath their homes if just 60% of the total impacted landowners signed onto the project.
Northeast Judicial District Judge Anthony Swain Benson on Tuesday ruled that the “amalgamation” law is unconstitutional because it provided landowners with no avenue for “just” compensation, as is typically determined by a jury when the power of eminent domain is utilized to force landowners to allow development projects onto their property.
The ruling impacts all decisions related to pore space that have been issued by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, including the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions multi-state CO2 pipeline project. Separately, a group of landowners is also challenging the state Industrial Commission’s approval of three CO2 storage pore space permits granted to Summit.
“We are encouraged by the Court’s ruling which affirms our position that the current law is unconstitutional and must be overturned,” said Kurt Swenson, North Dakota landowner impacted by Summit’s storage facility permits. “After multiple attempts to change this law through legislation, we regret that we had to turn to the courts. We do not oppose any specific project, but simply the law that unjustly gave the North Dakota Industrial Commission unconstitutional authorities, taking away our property rights.”
“This ruling is a critical development in safeguarding the safety and property rights of North Dakotans. The Court affirmed our belief that multi-billion dollar carbon capture corporations should not be allowed to undermine our constitutional rights,” said Emma Schmit, Pipeline Fighters Director for Bold Alliance.
View the court’s ruling and this press release online:
