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(Des Moines, IA) -- The debate over eminent domain and pipelines is gaining momentum in the Iowa Senate. House File 639 will beat this week's second legislative funnel deadline. That's a hurdle similar legislation has not gotten over in years past. In a subcommittee hearing Wednesday, landowners spoke to Senators on why it's important to them. That includes Kim Junker, who owns land in Butler County.
"It angers me that we've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy our farmers, our businesses, our livelihoods," Junker says. "Now, we have to continually spend thousands of dollars to keep others from profiteering off the property. Plus, collecting our tax dollars for something everyone knows is a scam and a boondoggle. This pipeline."
The pipeline she's referring to is called "Project Footprint" and is put forth by Ames-based Summit Carbon Solutions. Jake Ketzner, the company's Vice President of Government Relations, told the subcommittee it's nothing new.
"There's 5,000 miles of CO2 pipelines in operation today," Ketzner says. "They've been in operation for decades. This is not new."
Supporters say that's part of the reason the legislation was brought forward. That includes State Sen. Mike Bousselot (R-Ankeny), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.
"We need to protect private property rights and after the Dakota Access Pipeline nothing got done," Bousselot says. "Today's CO2 pipeline is tomorrow's hydrogen pipeline or tomorrow's transmission line. And we know where that's going."
The landowners' resentment isn't all aimed at the project itself, but at the use of eminent domain to take land for private use. To address these concerns, Bousselot has proposed an amendment to the legislation. The amendment would allow Summit Carbon Solutions to work with willing landowners outside the proposed pipeline corridor, avoiding the use of eminent domain.
"Let's say you get to a place and the corridor is a mile wide," Bousselot says. "Every landowner across that mile says 'we don't want to work with you.' What [Summit] could do is go outside that corridor, only using a voluntary easement, but go around that so it avoids using eminent domain for those landowners."
The bill passed the subcommittee with bipartisan support, but some Democratic legislators in the full Senate State Government Committee raised concerns about the timing of the amendment. That includes State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D-Waukee).
"Protecting private property owners means protecting their opportunity to use their voice in this process," Trone Garriott says. "A last minute amendment like this has really taken away their opportunity to give the feedback at the subcommittee and to us before we met here in the committee."
While the proposed amendment saw a party line vote, the bill itself passed through the committee with bipartisan support. State Sen. Matt Blake (D-Urbandale) explained the difference.
"This is the last train out of the station," Blake says. "So, I would recommend to everybody that we move this to the floor so we can have a proper debate on whether [landowner] rights are protected in this state."
The bill is now eligible for consideration by the full Iowa Senate.