The Mount Vernon City Council passed a resolution in opposition to the Navigator Heartland Greenway CO2 pipeline.
Mount Vernon city administrator Chris Nosbisch noted that the resolution is the work of multiple organizations, including the Sierra Club and Iowa Farm Bureau in its language and then put together by Mount Vernon’s city attorney.
While many of the concerns by farm owners note the fear of the use of eminent domain, for the City of Mount Vernon, it is more the location of the pipeline itself that has them concerned.
“It’s right on our west border of the city,” Nosbisch said. “That’s one of the areas we expect development of the city to occur in the future.”
There was a lack of communication by Navigator about this project, especially with the potential impact to emergency responses not being properly addressed. Several pipelines require evacuation plans and first responders being knowledgeable on what to do in case of emergency if a pipe is damaged.
As well, the path of the pipeline skirts the boundary of how close it can be to a city before Navigator should be in contact with that city.
Mount Vernon mayor Tom Wieseler noted that a third CO2 pipeline by ADM was just announced.
Mount Vernon City Council member Paul Tuerler asked if the city has jurisdiction on items that come within two miles of the city of Mount Vernon.
The city can weigh in on items like subdivisions and their placement, but not something like a pipeline, Nosbisch said, but if the pipeline were to end up going to court, the city might have standing against the pipeline.
“That’s why we’re asking Navigator to take a step back and rethink this pipeline in general,” Nosbisch said.
Mount Vernon City Council member Scott Rose noted it’s important for the council to take a long view for items facing the city, not just on things that happen today.
“We need to look beyond our borders, especially if it’s something that could impact public safety if something like this goes sideways and we had an opportunity to say something or change this,” Rose said.
West and Herrmann agreed.
Tuerler noted while he is in favor of the resolution, he has issues with Iowa Farm Bureau’s stance against the trail project between Mount Vernon and Cedar Rapids from a few years ago that have derailed or slowed that project.
“That opposition has directly hurt the community of Mount Vernon from an economic standpoint,” Tuerler said. “Bike trails have proved to be very lucrative for small communities. I would like to note while we support this effort for our own reasons, we still need support from the Iowa Farm Bureau on that project we’re trying to develop.”