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State regulators reject subpoena request for Rastetter testimony
An agriculture mogul who has a significant role in a pending carbon dioxide pipeline proposal will not be required to testify during its permit proceedings, the Iowa Utilities Board decided Tuesday. Several people sought a subpoena to compel the under-oath testimony of Bruce Rastetter, a co-founder of Summit Carbon Solutions. Pipeline opponents wanted him to […]
Summit permit process in North Dakota has reached ‘uncharted waters’
It’s not yet clear how utility regulators in North Dakota will proceed with their reconsideration of a pipeline permit for Summit Carbon Solutions. The state’s Public Service Commission granted the company’s reconsideration request with a split vote on Friday. It had unanimously denied Summit’s permit application in August because the company didn’t sufficiently show that […]
Carbon pipeline company has not ‘taken any state off the map’ after SD permit rejection
A recently failed permit application is not necessarily the end of a carbon capture pipeline company’s goal of building in South Dakota and four other states, according to a company spokesperson. “We have not taken any state off the map,” Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, of Navigator CO2, told South Dakota Searchlight in an interview Friday. The South […]
Feds pledge more than $1 billion to plant trees in cities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced hundreds of grants that total about $1.13 billion to plant new trees and maintain them in cities across the country. Tom Vilsack, the federal agriculture secretary and former governor of Iowa, traveled to Cedar Rapids Thursday to highlight the spending, which is being funded through last year’s Inflation […]
Rastetter testimony sought for evidence of Summit’s ‘anticompetitive’ agreements
Bruce Rastetter, the influential co-founder of Summit Carbon Solutions, should be subpoenaed to testify to state regulators in support of his company’s carbon dioxide pipeline proposal, according to the daughter of a landowner who is affected by the project. The daughter, Kerry Hirth, has filed a motion with the Iowa Utilities Board seeking to compel […]
Summit attorney expects pipeline hearing to last six weeks
FORT DODGE — A hearing that started Tuesday to determine whether Summit Carbon Solutions should get a permit to build a sprawling carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa will last about six weeks, according to the company’s lead attorney. That is significantly shorter than what was envisioned by the Iowa Utilities Board staff early this year. […]
Pipeline opponents seek procedural halt in Iowa after North Dakota decision
State regulators should postpone a final hearing for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa because North Dakota rejected the project route, opponents of the pipeline say. The Sierra Club of Iowa and landowners have asked the Iowa Utilities Board to pause the permit proceedings for Summit Carbon Solutions. Its evidentiary hearing is poised to […]
Judge says Summit should reveal to stakeholders its deals with ethanol plants
The specific terms of a pipeline company’s contracts with ethanol plants in Iowa are key to a decision about whether it deserves a permit to build, an administrative law judge has decided. As such, the judge said last week that Summit Carbon Solutions should be required to provide that information to the Iowa Farm Bureau […]
Iowa and Nebraska sue EPA to end E10 volatility waiver
Attorneys general in Iowa and Nebraska have filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force it to end the federal waiver for a common ethanol blend to be sold during the summer in those states. Here’s the idea behind the lawsuit: Eliminating that waiver would force refiners to reduce the volatility of gasoline […]
North Dakota denies Summit Carbon a pipeline permit
Summit Carbon Solutions has failed to minimize the negative impacts of its proposed carbon dioxide pipeline in North Dakota and will not be permitted to construct it, state regulators decided on Friday. The state is a key part of the company’s $5 billion project, which would span more than 2,000 miles in five states, including […]
Federal judge in Iowa says counties can’t restrict carbon dioxide pipeline locations
An ordinance adopted by Shelby County that would severely restrict the placement of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline conflicts with state and federal regulations and should not be enforced, a federal judge ruled this week. The judge granted Summit Carbon Solution’s request for a temporary injunction that prevents that ordinance’s enforcement. “It’s extremely disappointing,” said […]
Trump appeals to farmers in Iowa campaign visit
COUNCIL BLUFFS — Former President Donald Trump claimed he is the “most pro-farmer president that you’ve ever had” during a campaign stop in Iowa and joked that his payments to them during a trade war with China should guarantee he will win the state’s caucuses. “How the hell can I not? I gave the farmers […]