Earlier this week we told you about hundreds of letters sent to the Iowa Utilities Board in support of the Navigator CO2 pipeline project that seemed fraudulent based on the fact the writers of the letters claim to be from Iowa but their zip codes are from other states.
We now believe we can trace the letters back to their original source — Pipeliners Local 798. Check out this call to action of sorts they have posted:
As a leader in the biofuels industry, Iowa is uniquely situated to spearhead efforts of carbon management and the race to carbon neutrality. Navigator CO2’s Heartland Greenway (docket # HLP-2021-0003) is one of the first large-scale, commercially viable carbon capture projects to be developed in the United States. Reducing the carbon footprint of biofuel producers and other value-added rural processors is key to meeting global GHG emissions targets. By providing an economic way to reduce the carbon intensity of Midwestern products, Heartland Greenway will help expand the market potential for corn-based ethanol and other value-added goods while also creating valuable employment opportunities for highly skilled laborers, and generate ongoing increased tax revenues for communities across the footprint.
Carbon capture is good for Iowa!
Compare that to the letters claiming to be from Iowans that aren’t:
Seems like we have a winner.
Local Pipeliners 798 has nearly 3,100 welders who are a part of Pipeliners 798. The group also represents more than 650 journeymen spacers and over 3,200 helpers who assist the welders in the weld completion process.
Don Tormey, the director of communications for the Iowa Utilities Board, told The Iowa Standard that IUB vets all filed letters for profanity and threats, but it doesn’t change the content of other filed comments or letters accepted and filed in the docket.
The form IUB has requires users to complete all fields — including the address, state and zip code. He brushed off any concerns that letters are appearing to be from actual Iowans, but aren’t.
“Regardless of the source, the IUB welcomes comments, objections and letters of support in open dockets pending before us,” Tormey said. “Including those from out of state.”