Summit Carbon Solutions logo.
PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) — Pipeline opponents are riding high following the Public Utilities Commission decision to deny permits for two carbon capture pipelines in South Dakota. State Representative Karla Lems of Canton says the counties that approved safety setback zones were key.
Lems says this will also give the Legislature another opportunity to consider eminent domain laws related to the pipelines. Summit Attorney Brett Koenecke asked the comission to postpone the hearing instead of denying the permit. Despite the denial, he says the project is not going to disappear.
Pipeline opponents were concerned the permits would be approved before the 2024 legislative session. Representative Lems says the denials give them time to work on legislative strategy.
Lems sponsored a bill in this year’s legislative session to protect landowner’s property rights, but the bill failed in the state Senate. Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree of Madison doesn’t see that changing next year.
Most observers believe the permit denials of the past two weeks will delay the process, but the companies are expected to try again. That sets the stage for a legislative battle in Pierre in January.
Comments