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SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Driving across the upper Midwest, it is farm fields as far as the eye can see. Maybe that's why they call this the corn belt. Now, two companies want to build carbon capture pipelines across these same farm fields. Pipelines that they say are necessary to keep the ethanol industry alive. "We need to keep this industry going and as much as I've been involved, I recognize the way to have long-term viability and certainty in the ethanol industry or biofuels industry is to lower our carbon intensity scores." Kelly Nieuwenhuis is a farmer in northwest Iowa. It's his 40th year in the fields. He's signed on to have the two pipelines installed through his farmland. "It's critical that we get the projects done and ensures the long-term viability and put that certainty behind the biofuels industry," Nieuwenhuis, who is also heavily involved in the ethanol industry, told me on a visit to his farm this winter. THE NEXT STEP IN INNOVATION "This is important for agriculture because it's the next step in change for agriculture." Summit Carbon Solution and Heartland Greenway's Navigator CO2 pipelines will capture the carbon dioxide ethanol plants produce, liquefy it into a pipeline and sequester it deep underground."And what this does for the ethanol industry is it really stabilizes their balance sheet as well," explained Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions. "It gives them another source of revenue that they can use in their plant and into their plant complex." Ethanol producers say this is a benefit to the American farmer. "I wish I could predict the future for Lincolnway Energy," said Chris Cleveland, plant manager at Lincolnway Energy, a Summit-partnered ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa, "but it would be a big plus to be able to continue with the growth and be able to sequester your co2 into the pipeline." Lincolnway Energy already captures some of its carbon dioxide and scrubs the rest as atmospheric emissions. They say this partnership is also helping the climate, as well as economic growth, job security and the future of farmers and ethanol producers. " A facility that adopts carbon capture technology, like what we are proposing, has the ability to reduce the carbon score of that end gallon of ethanol by nearly 50%. And that's really significant," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at Navigator CO2. "This industry doesn't look the same as what it did 20 years ago, it doesn't look the same as it did 10 years ago." "It's continued to innovate, optimize, improve, and get better. This is just another one of those stepping stones of what I believe will continue to be a very long trajectory." THE FUTURE IS CARBON A trajectory that takes carbon from throwaway emissions to a commodity for the future. "It's a major bite of the carbon apple," said Blank. "And so when I look at this project and I think about what it can mean for premium markets for ethanol, and someday maybe premium markets for the dried distillers, which is a byproduct off of this product, off of this plant as well, as I think about what that means for the future of agriculture." "CO2 has the potential to be much the same way," said Burns-Thompson. "It is right now a byproduct that has the opportunity to provide additional value to those facilities. They necessarily need the infrastructure to be able to do that. And that's how these infrastructure projects are being developed to be able to provide that." As Nieuwenhuis says, the carbon commodity is here to stay. "If you've noticed over the last five to 10 years, carbon became a commodity. And we're not talking only about carbon intensities, but carbon credits, and it's not going away." "We see the infrastructure continuing to grow not only throughout the ethanol space," said Burns-Thompson, "but again in a variety of sectors throughout the Corn Belt." "I don't want to see that corn demand go away, said Blank. "So the opportunity for us to drive a stronger balance sheet into the ethanol industry, which what this will do will deliver longevity for this industry which is longevity for the US farm game. It's certainly part of the future without a doubt." "Carbon capture, carbon transportation and carbon management is absolutely the future," said Burns-Thompson. FOLLOW FOR MORE "Along the Route: A Pipeline Discussion" is a multi-part series of reports looking at everything from the companies that want to build them to those "for" and those "against" and a deeper dive into to carbon and ethanol industries at the center of the project. SEE THE VIDEO
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NEVADA, Iowa — Built among the farm fields of central Iowa between Ames and Nevada, sits Lincolnway Energy. This ethanol plant has a big plan for the future. Lincolnway Energy, which began operations in 2006 and produces upwards of 90 million gallons of ethanol a year, is one of more than two dozen producers who have partnered with Summit Carbon Solutions to capture and sequester their CO2 emissions, providing another financial touch-point for farmers. "We're excited to partner up with Summit," said Chris Cleveland, plant manager at Lincolnway Energy. "I think it's growth. I think it's job security because this is going to let us sequester CO2 into the pipeline. (It's) a future for ethanol producers, a future for our farmers and our markets." Lincolnway Energy, which began operations in 2006 and produces upwards of 90 million gallons of ethanol a year, is one of more than two dozen producers who have partnered with Summit Carbon Solutions to capture and sequester its CO2 emissions, providing another financial touch-point for farmers. "What we're hoping for, what I'm hoping for, and what drives me every day is, this is another piece of revenue, another piece of strength for the balance sheet for US agriculture," said Summit CEO, Lee Blank. "That will continue to strengthen that US farm and that US farm gate balance sheet. "This for an ethanol plant is going to allow us to go out and capture the premiums of the markets and the different markets coming online," Cleveland said of the partnership with the pipeline. THE CARBON SPACE CO2 is just part of the picture for ethanol producers. "I always think this is fascinating, Cleveland said, "you walk into a plant, you're grinding, it's an agriculture background, a dusty environment and all that. And then you come up with this pure to 100-proof alcohol," he said in the lab at Lincolnway, "I mean this stuff smells like rubbing alcohol." Inside the lab at Lincolnway Energy, Cleveland shows me everything they can pull from corn. "Here's our corn coming in from the local farmers," he said holding up a container of corn kernels. "From this corn here, we're fermenting and producing your final 200-proof alcohol here," he says holding up a jar of crystal-clear liquid. "From there we extract this from the corn mash, this is where we dry and become dried distillers grains also," he said about the yellow-orange powder they create and ship. "Another good product we pull out is the corn oil." And that yellow powder is DDG, or dried distillers grain. It's what is left of the corn after everything else is extracted. DDG is a product utilized worldwide. "Dried distillers grains, you see how nice and yellow that is. That's big-time restrictions," Cleveland showed me. "You have to watch this stuff too but we've barged this all the way to China. So I mean it's worldwide. Ethanol is worldwide." Now, with their partnership with Summit Carbon Solutions, they can capture and utilize their biggest throw-away product, carbon dioxide. Lincolnway already has some of the infrastructure in place to capture that CO2 and they plan to construct the rest in an empty lot on the property. The end goal for all is a partnership that benefits these two businesses, and the Iowa farmer. "Really what I liken it to maybe the transcontinental railroad, you know, in 1862 I believe, we decided as a country to open markets up and the railroad helped us do that. That's really what this does," said Blank. "If you think about the infrastructure project almost as logistics, it opens markets for plants like this one here in Nevada to give it other places that they can ship their products at a premium. Those premiums come back to the plant, strengthen the plant's balance sheet, help the plant grow its capacities. More demand for US corn, and more demand for US farmers." Not just the US farmer, but Iowa. "I believe it's a big part of the future of the family farms and the next generation," said Cleveland. FOLLOW FOR MORE "Along the Route: A Pipeline Discussion" is a multi-part series of reports looking at everything from the companies that want to build them to those "for" and those "against" and a deeper dive into to carbon and ethanol industries at the center of the project. SEE THE VIDEO Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring byproduct of the environment. As humans, we expel it with every breath we take. Plants use carbon dioxide to create the oxygen we breathe in. Carbon dioxide is a critical component of life. But in high quantities, carbon dioxide is toxic and even fatal. That is a major concern for those opposing liquid carbon capture pipelines proposed for the central United States. "There is a twofold safety issue with that too because when it immediately explodes, that is a cryo-frozen product and it will freeze anything in the blast zone," Dave Hoferer told me during an interview with other local residents opposing the pipelines. "And then it warms up and spreads out in a blanket, whichever way the wind is blowing, whichever the temperature is." A group of Siouxland landowners and concerned citizens have been fighting to keep Summit Carbon Solutions and Navigator CO2 Ventures out of the region. While they have several reasons they oppose the pipelines, their biggest concern is safety and the dangers pressurized liquid carbon dioxide poses should a rupture occur. CARBON DIOXIDE The environment holds about .04 percent CO2. If concentrations get to 2%, that is when you can begin to feel the effects of carbon dioxide poisoning like headaches, nausea, dizziness, increased breathing, and confusion, according to health experts at MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center. "If it goes above 8%, then people have more profound nausea and vomiting," said Amanda Monroe-Rubendall, an RN with MercyOne Siouxland. "And then when it gets above 10%, that's when there's enough carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to actually displace the oxygen and people can suffocate." Carbon dioxide is denser than air. Unlike natural gas or methane, it's colorless, tasteless and odorless. The carbon dioxide in these proposed pipelines will be pressurized into a liquid-like state. Should a pipeline rupture or leak and come to the surface, the pressurized CO2 would settle low to the ground, essentially replacing the oxygen we breathe. This isn't just a danger for those living near the pipelines but it could also pose a problem for first responders. "It can also make rescue efforts difficult because the internal combustion engines like in your car have no oxygen in order to be able to run, so then rescue vehicles have a hard time operating. You need to get out of that area," said Monroe-Rubendall. RESCUE AND SAFETY EFFORTS "We have a statement from one of (the pipeline) agents that they are going to train our local fire department and furnish them the equipment," said Jim Colyer, a Woodbury County resident fighting against the pipelines, "but who's going to give them electric fire trucks and electric rescue equipment? Because we all know that our combustion engines need oxygen to run and this plume displaces all of the oxygen." "They're already bringing in pipes and equipment and dumping it on people's land that has signed easements and they haven't even trained the area firefighters and EMTs yet," said Vicki Hulse. PHMSA, the governmental agency monitoring pipelines, released new safety regulations after the Satartia, Mississippi carbon capture pipeline rupture in 2020. Summit and Navigator each say they are making safety a priority. "We've done the overviews, we've done the trainings, we've developed the plans," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson with Navigator CO2. "We've equipped these teams with the infrastructure and component pieces and equipment that they need. We've tested those plans before anything goes into the pipe." "Ultimately, we're building the safest pipeline in the history of the country and the reason for that is because the technology is so much more recent," said Summit CEO Lee Blank. FOLLOW FOR MORE "Along the Route: A Pipeline Discussion" is a multi-part series of reports looking at everything from the companies that want to build them to those "for" and those "against" and a deeper dive into to carbon and ethanol industries at the center of the project. SEE THE VIDEO On February 22nd, 2020 outside a small Mississippi village, a 24-inch pressurized liquid carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide pipeline ruptured. More than 300 people were evacuated from Satartia and surrounding communities. 46 were hospitalized with carbon dioxide poisoning. There were no fatalities. This rupture has been a focal point for those opposing two liquid carbon-capture pipelines setting their sights on the midwest. One of their biggest concerns is safety. "We've had a meeting with a first responder from the Satartia explosion with one of the victims that he found unconscious in the car after his rural 4-wheeler died because it was gas," said Jodie Wilson, who is representing her mother in the fight against two carbon-capture pipelines. "You know, that's where we don't believe that they're going to be doing anything for the safety." "Or the other thing is about emergency response," echoed David Hoferer. "That's after a disaster has happened. So how many people are now unconscious? How many need to be rushed to the hospital? And you know, God forbid anyone dies." "And a hazmat team has to come in and the nearest hazmat team is over two hours away," said Vicki Hulse. She's taking Navigator CO2 to court over her property rights. "What's going to survive in two hours?" SATARTIA, MISSISSIPPI The response to the Satartia rupture was highly flawed. A report by PHMSA, the governmental pipeline oversight agency says first responders around Satartia were not informed of the rupture by the pipeline company, Denbury Gulf Coast Pipelines LLC, or the safety risk with a CO2 pipeline. That left them essentially guessing on how to properly respond to the rupture. The rupture was reported at 7:06 p.m. on February 22, 2020. The first emergency call came in at 7:15 p.m. for reports of a "foul smell and green fog" leaving emergency responders thinking it was a chlorine leak in the water supply. Fortunately, responders decided to quickly isolate the affected area by shutting down local highways and evacuating people in proximity to the release. It wasn't until 7:43 p.m. that night, a full 30 minutes after the rupture, that emergency personnel discovered they were dealing with CO2. From the PHMSA report: Liquid CO2 vaporizes when released into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide vapor is 1.53 times heavier than air, and displaces oxygen, so it can act as an asphyxiant to humans and animals. This delay in information would be one of the biggest changes in safety for CO2 pipeline construction moving forward. The weather conditions and unique topography of the accident site prevented the CO2 vapor from rapidly dispersing and allowing a plume to form that migrated toward Satartia. The total cost of the rupture was nearly $4 million dollars. READ THE SATARTIA, MS PIPELINE FAILURE REPORT HERE Failure Investigation Report - Satartia, MS Pipeline Explosion by Katie Copple on Scribd PIPELINE SAFETY "Safety is intrinsic in how we design the project itself, everything from the component pieces of the metal that goes into the piping, to how we route, ultimately where that infrastructure is intended to lie. How we go through a response plan," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson with Heartland Greenway's Navigator CO2 Ventures, one of the two pipelines in production. Nearly two years after the Satartia rupture, PHMSA announced new safety measures and oversight for carbon dioxide pipelines. One of the biggest changes was updating the standards for emergency preparedness and response. Navigator and Summit Carbon Solutions, the other pipeline, say are making safety an important component of their plan. "What we have learned from some of the other projects in the carbon capture space and how we've thus then improved those safety factors as part of our design and routing implementation," said Burns-Thompson. Lee Blank, the CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions said they too are making safety a priority. "We have safety and environmental people on staff today that are working with the local communities as we speak." Kelly Nieuwenhuis is a farmer in rural O'Brien County, Iowa. He has signed easement agreements with both Navigator and Summit to place pipelines on his property. Even though he is miles from the nearest fire station, he isn't worried. "I'm not concerned about it because the pipelines today are so much better than they were 20-30 years ago just because of technology," said Nieuwenhuis. "You know, they got sensors on them. They got shut off valves and somebody's going to be watching those 24 hours a day." Summit tells me they will have the ability to monitor their pipeline 24/7 once it is in operation. Navigator says they've already begun training with area first responders along the route. "We do regular drills and tests of those response plans on an ongoing basis," said Burns-Thompson. "But we are also required and we'll go and reevaluate the risk models on the infrastructure itself so as the landscape continues to evolve as a community grows." "But we will properly train and supply various pieces of equipment that they may need to assist with an issue that may come up from our infrastructure project," Blank said about training emergency personnel, "even though the percentage or the odds of that are fairly small." And the companies say they will continue that conversation even after their pipelines are in operation. Just like there's not stagnation in business," said Burns-Thompson, "there's also not stagnation in safety or how we evaluate the asset.But for many in the path of these carbon dioxide pipelines that's not enough. There is a genuine fear they say, considering most of rural America is kept safe by volunteers. "You look at it, they are placing a large burden on first responders that I don't think that they're going to meet," said Stee Maxwell, another concerned landowner in the pipeline path. "So you can promise a lot of stuff. Are they actually going to come through? That's the question. That's very, very doubtful." FOLLOW FOR MORE "Along the Route: A Pipeline Discussion" is a multi-part series of reports looking at everything from the companies that want to build them to those "for" and those "against" and a deeper dive into to carbon and ethanol industries at the center of the project. SEE THE VIDEO SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Tucked in a valley off Correctionville Road sits a camp unique as the people it serves. "Our whole idea is that our campers feel just like everybody else." Camp High Hopes is a place for kids and adults with disabilities, special needs and chronic illnesses to come and experience things they may not get to otherwise. "Out in the real world, they're told no all the time. No, they can't participate in something because of their disability. No, they can't do this. No, they can't do that," said Executive Director Sarah Morgan. "But when they come to camp, we tell them yes, because we have the facilities, we have the equipment, we have the activities that are completely adapted to their ability." "They can do the high ropes course elements and reach the top and everybody below is cheering them on," she explained about Camp. "And so they get that feeling of independence and pride and self-esteem. And again, they're feeling just like everybody else. They're feeling just like their peers who get to do this as well." Dewey is a camper, and his mom Jamie Shufflebarger sees just how impactful camp has been for her son. "I feel really assured that he's getting the best care and that he's getting new experiences. And he's growing and learning every time he comes." Dewey requires 24-hour care, Jamie says, something the staff at Camp High Hopes can help provide. "So being able to bring him here in the summer for a week-long break. And then during the fall and spring for a weekend break is you know, it's relieving," Sufflebarger said. "It helps it makes me have a mental break." With 90 acres of space for adaptive activities, there is something at Camp High Hopes for everyone. "He really has done things here that he cannot do in any other program," Shufflebarger said, "they offer things like canoeing and the monkey tree and although he's not doing the monkey tree, we're working on things like just getting him to put the harness on things like just putting the harness on is very difficult for him." Camp High Hopes is made possible by donations and fundraisers with every dollar used to make camp accessible for anyone. "Knowing that you are truly making a difference in not only the campers' life but their family's life too. It is extremely rewarding to see the difference we can make in so many people's lives," said Morgan. If you would like to be a summer camp counselor at Camp High Hopes, find out more about their programs and events, or just help them make camp possible, visit their website here. SEE THE VIDEO Eminent domain as described by Cornell Law School refers to the power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use. The Fifth Amendment states that the government may only exercise this power if they provide just compensation to the property owners. "Eminent domain was put into effect for the good of the public," said Roger Schmid, a landowner in Woodbury Co. Iowa. "And I don't see this, it's not a commodity that's going to be used by anybody. It's strictly a private corporation in it for the money to take the carbon credits from the government." Roger Schmid is one of more than a dozen landowners and private citizens in Northwest Iowa who are fighting to keep their land out of the hands of two liquid CO2 pipeline companies. "I'm probably the only one here who does not have land affected by this," said Doyle Turner. "To me, the real issue is the eminent domain. And what I'm seeing is that our state and federal government, or especially our state, has decided to use the Iowa Utilities Board, rather than controlling a monopolistic company, which all these companies are by nature, rather than doing that they're actually creating a monopoly and there is no reason why the CO2 should not be accessible by these landowners." Summit Carbon Solutions and Heartland Greenway's Navigator CO2 Ventures are two liquid carbon capture pipelines routed for the central United States. These two companies are working with landowners to agree on voluntary easements for the installation of the projects. "We are doing everything in our power to reach out," said Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions on getting the proper easements from landowners, "and again, we spent hundreds of millions of dollars to economically solve these easements without ever having to talk about eminent domain." "So at its core, we are truly disincentivized from utilizing eminent domain, such that it makes as much business sense to do as much as voluntary as possible," said Navigator's Elizabeth Burns-Thompson with Navigator CO2. LANDOWNERS WEIGH IN Both companies are offering lucrative deals for access to private property with a promise to have that land back in working order in just a few years. For those I spoke to at our Siouxland News studios, one of their biggest issues was the use of eminent domain for a project like this. I shared the following statement from Burns-Thompson with the panel. "To think that you can develop an interstate transportation system like this, without some application of eminent domain is unlikely. However, what I think is important also is to evaluate the tenant or the foundation of what is eminent domain and unfortunately, it has been so significantly mischaracterized to the public. At its core, eminent domain does not save us time. It does not save us money, and it doesn't make us any friends." Deb Main: Well that's true. That's the first true thing I have heard her say. Roger Schmid: That's pretty obvious. Vicki Hulse: I'm not going to be your friend. Katie Copple: So are you going to fight until you get to the possibility of eminent domain? And fight that? (Collectively) Absolutely. Doyle Turner: I think the eminent domain, for me, is the largest factor. This sets a horrible precedent for all landowners in the state. Schmid: Once you take that out of the bag, what do you do, where does it stop? You have a private corporation taking private land for their good. Not for the public good overall. That just opens up a large can of worms. Copple: So would you agree with what she said that the public may not understand what eminent domain is if they are not directly impacted by it? Main: I'm offended that she's calling me stupid. I really am. Copple: And maybe not just landowners, but I had no idea what it was until I started digging into this a bit more and I had to learn about it. Do you think the public, the general public that isn't affected by this, maybe don't understand what eminent domain really means? (Collective) Yes. Turner: But also, there is a legitimate use for eminent domain. We need eminent domain to put up roads. We need eminent domain to do actual utilities that serve the public. And this is an abuse of a legitimate process that we legitimately use to make our lives better and this is not going to make our lives better, this is going to make one or two corporations a lot of money and it puts our lives in danger. Hulse: But it’s also setting a precedent for other companies to come in and abuse eminent domain for private gain. If it’s not stopped... I mean it could go on to hurt other landowners, not just the ones affected by this hazardous pipeline. THE FUTURE OF EMINENT DOMAIN Summit and Navigator say using eminent domain is a last resort, but necessary to get their pipelines in the ground. "Ultimately there would be a process where we may have to use eminent domain to work through these various last few that we would have," said Blank. "We would anticipate the percentages of that being extremely small. Because we continue to push the economic solution. The use of eminent domain dates back to 1876 when federal officials wanted to condemn private land in Ohio to build a custom house and post office building. Since then, eminent domain has been used to build roads and railways, construct public buildings, and even acquire land for public parks. Today, the discussion over eminent domain made it to the Iowa State House. State lawmakers advanced a bill in the Iowa House that would restrict the use of eminent domain for pipeline companies until they secure 90% of their proposed route with voluntary easements. "I don't believe that eminent domain should be used for what is a private economic development project," said State Rep Steve Holt of Denison who spearheaded the bill. "I don't have an issue with the CO2 pipelines. I have an issue with other people's property being taken for what is an economic development project and I think where that's where we confuse public use for public benefit." The bill was effectively killed in the State Senate, and ultimately stopped its progress until another legislative session. These two multi-million dollar companies continue to say they don't want to rely on eminent domain to get the job done. "We would fully anticipate the percentages across the entire system, if we have to do anything that might be more along the eminent domain, a discussion will be very small," said Blank. "So eminent domain for you is a last resort?" I asked Burns-Thompson. "Eminent Domain is an absolute last resort," she responded. This group says they aren't against eminent domain at its core. For them, it's the use of eminent domain for a project they feel isn't for the public good but for private gain. Hulse: What is the public good? Schmid: And that is what it’s supposed to be used for, for the public good. And usually, it’s a commodity such as a pipeline, an oil pipeline, or a gas pipeline, where it’s a project or it’s a road or rural water, it's a commodity. Hulse: What's the public good in this, I don't know. Schmid: It’s being used for the wrong purpose. FOLLOW FOR MORE "Along the Route: A Pipeline Discussion" is a multi-part series of reports looking at everything from the companies that want to build them to those "for" and those "against" and a deeper dive into to carbon and ethanol industries at the center of the project. SEE THE VIDEO Kelly Nieuwenhuis is no stranger to hard work. "I'm a family farmer. I farm with two brothers. This would be my 40th year in 2023." He's been part of the biofuels industry for years and has watched it grow and evolve with a changing market. "I've been involved in the biofuels industry for 20 years," he told me on a visit to his farm. "And the last 10 years I've been involved in the industry and definitely focused on carbon in tax reductions or carbon intensity reductions." Farming in O'Brien County, Iowa, he's one of several landowners who have proposed carbon capture pipelines mapped for their property and he's already on board. Summit Carbon Solutions and Heartland Greenway's Navigator CO2 Ventures are two liquid carbon-capture pipelines in production through the central United States. They would carry liquid CO2 from ethanol plants to a central location for underground sequestration. The success of these pipelines relies largely on voluntary easements signed by the landowners like Nieuwenhuis on the route. "I was on board right away. Absolutely," he said of the pipelines. He's signed easements with both companies to install their pipelines through his farmland. "Nut the absolute best thing you could do is you could capture and sequester underground permanently." Carbon has become a commodity in the ag industry and it's in many everyday items we use. "A lot of this stuff is used in carbonation, it's used in refrigeration, it's used in dry ice," Nieuwenhuis explained. "Markets are somewhat saturated, so we need to find another place for the CO2 to reduce the CO2 emissions." "Prior to the ethanol industry or biofuels, we had livestock and we had exports and if those didn't work or the export numbers were down, we overproduced and we're subsidized," Nieuwenhuis said as he explained what he calls the 'agricultural stool. "And then we built the third leg of the stool, the biofuels industry, and that's been the absolute best wealth-building industry." THE EASEMENT LOCATION The area of Nieuwenhuis' farmland where the Summit and Navigator pipelines will be laid is a few miles from his home. We drove to the area so I could see it for myself. "The Summit pipeline is going to go straight east and west right here," he pointed as we looked over his farmland on a windy February day. "Just over the hill there I have a natural gas pipeline that goes diagonally that's been there for 40-50 years and then behind that, probably 200-300 yards to the west of that is where the Navigator line is going to go, diagonally across." "And how much of this area is the easement for the construction?" I asked. "They are going to have a 50-foot-wide permanent easement and then a 50-foot temporary during the construction phase," Nieuwenhuis explained. Nieuwenhuis has already received payment for the estimated crop damage to his land. "You know they pay you, compensate you for crop damages over three to five years or longer," he said. He's already received part of those payments. "After three years, we stopped seeing issues with crop damages." The Dakota Access oil pipeline runs through his farmland already. Several years removed from when it was installed, he says he doesn't see any change in yield. "We've got yield maps that show over the last two years, we can't see the pipeline," he explained. "We're pretty confident that over time, I'm not saying it's an instant repair, things take a few years and that's why they pay in three to five years in crop damages or more if there's an issue. But I've learned to not say the word 'never' or 'forever' because it doesn't harm the property forever or anything like that." Overall, Nieuwenhuis sees carbon capture as the next major step forward for the ag industry. "It just came home from the U.S. Grains Council meetings, and every country was talking about the need to lower your carbon intensities, and in their markets, they're paying you a premium to do it. And so I think if the biofuels industry wants to compete with the rest of the energy industry." And as the world rallies for net-zero emissions by the year 2030, "that's a huge step to the race to net zero," said Nieuwehnuis. "And I think we can get to net zero in the next decade in biofuels and with the energy of the world focusing on low carbon we need to meet or continue to improve our process to stay in the game." FOLLOW FOR MORE "Along the Route: A Pipeline Discussion" is a multi-part series of reports looking at everything from the companies that want to build them to those "for" and those "against" and a deeper dive into to carbon and ethanol industries at the center of the project. SEE THE VIDEO Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was back in Iowa Monday and held a campaign stop in Salix.
The former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador spoke at the event at Port Neal Welding Company. Haley touched on several major topics including taxes and the debt ceiling, term limits in Congress and agriculture. She also introduced her plan for the education system. "So we need to do around the country what I did as Governor," she told the crowd. "We said no child could pass the 3rd grade if they couldn't read. We put them in reading remediation camps, we worked with their parents. We made sure we got them back on track. You go and you cut out all of this critical race theory and you focus on the things that really matter. You make sure that parents can see everything their kids are being taught. Everything. There is no reason you should be kept in the dark." One of Haley's biggest talking points was the crisis at the southern border. Recently returning from a visit to the border herself, Haley touched on the laws she enacted as governor as what she'd like to see nationwide. "In South Carolina, I passed one of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the country," she said. "We put in a mandatory E-Verify program so that no business could hire anyone who was here illegally. That's how we got them out of South Carolina. We do mandatory E-Verify. Then you go and you make sure that you stop funding the 87,000 IRS agents and put 25,000 border and ICE agents on the ground." She also touched on ways to reduce the debt ceiling and debt in Americans pockets. "You basically go to them and you change the retirement age so that it reflects life expectancy. Instead of the cost of living increases, you relate it to inflation, it makes it more accurate. You limit benefits to the wealthy. You expand Medicare advantage plans so there are more options, and more competition and you can actually begin to pay down the debt if we do those things." Haley heads to Denison, Storm Lake, and Fort Dodge Tuesday before ending her Iowa tour in Des Moines on Wednesday. Music education can change a child's life, unlocking a gift that can carry them through a lifetime. :I like the music academy because the teachers are really nice here and I love playing piano and I could be successful with it," said one student. Inside First United Methodist Church on Nebraska Street, you can hear the tinkering of piano keys every Monday afternoon. It's part of the Music Academy at First, a new program teaching music to kids who may just need it most. "It's where it really starts is in elementary," said academy director Gene Wagner. "Where do we get these kids involved in music and how do we get them started in music, especially for kids that are low income that can't afford to do some of that stuff? They don't have those opportunities. And that was kind of the kickoff for the music academy to provide those opportunities for kids who don't have the finances and can't afford to do any of this stuff." The Music Academy officially launched this year offering free beginner piano lessons to students at Hunt Elementary who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Before the old Hunt Elementary was closed down, the church had a similar program going, offering free piano lessons to students. When the new Hunt Elementary opened its doors, creating the Music Academy was a no-brainer. "It offers so many benefits for those kids, makes them better students and better prepares them for their future." Piano lessons expanded to hand chimes and string instruments. Several instructors also offer private lessons for kids who really want to keep learning and have a love for music. "To see a kid brighten up and open up and be able to express themselves in this way means everything," said string instructor Eleanor May-Patterson. "To me, it means it's a lifelong learning experience, where it's not only just learning an instrument or learning how to sing, but it's learning history, and how and what the composers were doing, across time and globally." "Music is not just a single thing, but it's so many skills together," said Wagner. "It's that focus. It's reading rhythms. It's reading notes. It's about working together, being on time and being supportive." Instructors like Carolyn Rants teach because they want to help kids find purpose. "You know, it gives you that expression of music and that love for music," Rants said. "And if we can give that to children who maybe, in today's society, don't have it in their home. There's a cacophony in society and so it's great to be able to provide some of that," she said, "which is why my cane and I come and volunteer." 'My heart just sings when I see these kids coming in," said piano instructor Emily Jasman. "It's after school, early out on a Monday. They could be going home and watching TV or doing other things but they chose to come here and continue these lessons." Lessons are completely free for kids in the program with instruments and music funded by grants and donations. While its reach is small now, the hope is that the Music Academy can grow to more schools, more students, and more instruments. For those who are part of First United Methodist Church, having this program in their facilities is important. "To see a child when they come here and never even have touched a piano and after the first lesson, they're playing Old MacDonald," said Pastor Roger Madden, "it's amazing. The next week, a little more, and the third week, they're just excited. And it's not just the music. It's also the relationship they build with their teacher." These volunteers are teaching more than just the keys on the piano. "Their confidence grows," said Jasman of the change she sees in her students. "They become better public speakers. They become more confident in decision-making because their reading is better. And they know they can express themselves." "And there's a lot of camaraderie with kids that are in those programs and it gives them a space to be creative but also to stay safe in a safe environment. Well, I think it's an experience that they don't get any other way," said Rants. "To experience the creativity that comes from music, the sounds, the appreciation that you have. You don't realize how much you learn from that experience until later in your life." The Music Academy at First is run entirely on grants and donations, to provide the instruments and music for the kids. The Academy hopes to grow its reach, to offer free music lessons to kids across the area from elementary through high school. SEE THE VIDEO For many residents in the Midwest, farming isn't their job. It's their life. Land passed from generation to generation, decades of history throughout the grounds. We have a century farm," said Woodbury County landowner Deb Main, "My dad entrusted me to care for his land.Now, two multi-million dollar companies want to use that land to install carbon capture pipelines across the central United States. "We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on easements to date to the U.S. landowner and we're not stopping," said Summit CEO Lee Blank. "We're going to continue to do that until we get ourselves in a position where we got 100%." THE PIPELINES Summit Carbon Solutions plans to build a pipeline that will take liquid CO2 from ethanol plants in five states into an underground storage facility in Bismarck, North Dakota. Heartland Greenway's Navigator CO2 Ventures pipeline runs on the same concept. Capture liquid CO2 and store it underground in south-central Illinois. To do this, both companies need voluntary easements from landowners along the route of their pipelines, giving them permission to pass through hundreds of miles of private land. "We have great success in all areas throughout the project footprint to date, but that is necessarily a long-term process," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for Navigator. "So again, landowner negotiations necessarily are weeks and months type of progress, not something that you do in a matter of days." Those negotiations are for easements that give each company access to private land to work and install the pipeline. "Negotiation is far more broad than that," said Burns-Thompson. "Negotiation is how that pipeline is put in. Is there different and additional restoration steps that you as a landowner want to include or delineate as part of that? Is there a different placement of that pipe that you would like to see as part of that? So again, placement of the pipe, how we do the work, and then ultimately also how that compensation looks. That is what is encompassed in that negotiation." EASEMENT AGREEMENTS Kelly Nieuwenhuis lives and farms near Primghar, Iowa. Farming is a family business. So we're pretty proud of that, that we have a family farm and been doing it for 40 years. He's already reached easement agreements with both Summit and Navigator for access to his farmland. "We negotiated with both of them," he told me on his farm in northwest Iowa. "We had very respectable land agents come to our farms and visit with us and we probably met with them three or four times at least and we asked for a few other things that we wanted done. And they were happy to do that." Part of the easement agreement details potential property damage, and for farmland, potential crop losses. That isn't just for the time of construction, but for several years after. "We feel like we're partnering with the U.S. agricultural landowner, as well as others that have easements and with those partnerships, we're working through this economic discussion," said Blank. "Also talking through the nuts and bolts of compensation," said Burns-Thompson. "And so making sure that what we're putting forward is something that's fair and that's what's in the eyes of the beholder. So we necessarily want to make sure that we're taking the time to talk to folks and figuring out something that's fair and equitable." Summit Carbon Solutions has more than 65% of the easements needed for their project footprint, according to the latest numbers sent to Siouxland News on April 3, 2023.
Navigator CO2 Ventures says they have spent upwards of $15.5 million on easement payments to landowners in the project path as of April 5, 2023.
LANDOWNERS HOLDING OUT But not everyone in the path of the pipeline is on board. "Without the limitation of contact with landowners, then land agents are still harassing landowners incessantly to sign easements and offering more and more and more money, which is the bribery situation. It's not a business plan. It's a bribery situation." Deb Main is one of more than a dozen landowners in the tri-state area who oppose these pipelines. She has yet to sign an easement to give the companies access to her land. "And that's a proposed pipeline route also," she explained about the proposed pipeline path through her property. "It doesn't mean they're going to stick with that because some people have signed an easement because it just went across the corner of my property. Well, now it goes like (Roger's property), down the middle because they can put it anywhere on your property they want." I sat down with nearly a dozen landowners and residents who oppose the pipelines to discuss why they are fighting back against these multi-million dollar companies. One of their biggest points was easements. "It goes from a six-inch pipeline to a 24-inch pipeline," said Stee Maxwell, another landowner from northwest Iowa. "It seems to be a lot of variances as far as how large the pipeline is, and like to say we got that much pressure coming through that pipeline, that's going to be..." "And the depths," echoed Jim Colyer. "I've heard from three foot to eight foot. So, what is it going to be? During these informative meetings, you hear lots of different stories." Landowners were sent certified letters in 2021, informing them of the pipelines and informational meetings held in each county the pipelines were passing through. "At the informative meetings that are required in Iowa by the Iowa Utilities Board," said Main, "you not only got the information from the pipeline company, but outside the meeting, they had survey companies there and land agents and they invited you to go talk with them and schedule your survey and sign an easement before you knew anything about this." DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE Both companies are still working with landowners on negotiations to find an agreement that suits the needs of all parties involved. We want to make sure that this truly is a dialogue to negotiation that's two-sided and we're coming to the table with ears wide open," said Burns-Thompson."We haven't had the opportunity to really explain the economic model," said Blank. "Some of the economics that we're delivering, a lot of the economics we're delivering, they're different because every farmer landowner has got a different situation. There may be things that are unique, that could change the economics, the agricultural economics around the easements that we actually are paying for." That payment the companies are offering, Nieuwenhuis says, is satisfactory. "I figured on my property where the permanent easement was, if I was guaranteed a $300 an acre profit forever, it would take me over 100 years equal this one-time payment," Nieuwenhuis explained, "so pretty satisfied with the compensation." But for some, that land they hold is priceless. "The easements are permanent easements," said Jodie Wilson, who is fighting for her mother's rights as a property owner. "They are just not for the project. They get done with it after they’ve collected all of their tax credits, they could sell it to another company and we have no say about it and we just have to live with it." Jim Colyer: It’s forever. Roger Schmid: It hangs on your land forever. FOLLOW FOR MORE "Along the Route: A Pipeline Discussion" is a multi-part series of reports looking at everything from the companies that want to build them to those "for" and those "against" and a deeper dive into to carbon and ethanol industries at the center of the project. SEE THE VIDEO |
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