South Dakota Law Raises Questions About Future Of Massive Midwest Pipeline

A new law in South Dakota prohibiting the use of eminent domain to acquire land for carbon capture pipelines raises questions about the viability of a proposed 2,500 mile 4,023-kilometer project snaking through five Midwest states.

Summit Carbon Solutions, the company behind the estimated 8.9 billion pipeline, vowed to keep pursuing the project despite South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden's announcement Thursday that he had signed a bill into law that will make routing the line much more difficult. The law bans Summit from forcing South Dakota landowners to allow the pipeline through their property.

Plans call for the pipeline to carry greenhouse gas emissions from more than 50 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota to a spot in North Dakota, where it would be permanently stored underground.

Legal action is possible

It's unclear whether Summit will pursue legal action but the company said in a statement that "all options are on the table" and the project "moves forward" in other states. The company promised it would have more news soon.