You may have heard about the CO2 pipelines proposed to cross our state—three pipelines now, one by Summit Carbon Solutions, one by Navigator CO2 Ventures, and the newest for ADM. ADM’s pipeline, on a route from Cedar Rapids to Clinton, will most certainly go through our community.
My neighbors and I (see “Against Navigator Pipeline” on YouTube, with more than 2,000 views) are standing together to fight these CO2 pipelines. Why?
• CO2 pipelines have known safety concerns (at concentrations of 10-15%, CO2 causes loss of consciousness, convulsions, coma, or death). Accidents do happen (see the CO2 pipeline rupture outside of Satartia, Mississippi in 2020), and our communities are vulnerable.
• Installation of a pipeline ruins soil structure and lowers yields, while the threat of eminent domain undermines the property rights of the very farmers who supply grain to the ethanol plants.
• Finally, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is not necessary to secure ethanol’s future as a low-carbon fuel. No one knows this better than ADM. Their own “Carbon Reduction Feasibility Study” from March 2020 (available on their website) concludes that carbon capture and sequestration is the least effective option for lowering their greenhouse gas emissions. Why? Because while carbon capture is supposed to address the CO2 from the fermentation of corn, the real problem for ADM is the CO2 emitted from coal-fired energy production. Seventy percent of their on-site CO2 emissions come from coal. That’s why the recommendation in the report is for ADM to wean themselves off coal, along with tightening up efficiency. So, instead of shoving a toxic waste transportation system through Iowa farmland in an attempt to bury their sins, ADM has a plan to stop the majority of their CO2 emissions from being generated in the first place.
It is plain that CO2 pipelines are dangerous, destructive, and unnecessary. The real reason corporations are aiming to capture CO2 from ethanol plants is not for ethanol’s sake, but because ethanol is a “pure” and inexpensive source of liquid CO2, which the oil and gas industry uses for extraction of more fossil fuels in a process called enhanced oil recovery (EOR). There is a reason proposed pipelines lead to Illinois and North Dakota, as that builds a national system transporting CO2 from the biofuel industry to where oil and gas industry needs it most.
We now have the ability to keep our state from becoming a toxic waste transportation system. State Senator Jeff Taylor, Republican from Sioux Center has introduced a bill (SF 2160) in the Iowa legislature that would stop the use of eminent domain for private projects. The bill is currently in a subcommittee and needs our support. We, the people, can make our voices heard and protect our land and our communities. Please—today—call State Senator Jason Schultz (712-269-2178 or 515-281-3371) and let him know that you want SF 2160 to pass his sub-committee and committee. Also, call our State Representative Charlie McClintock (319-560-1234) and State Senator Dan Zumbach (563-920-5094 or 515-281-3371). Please tell them that you support SF 2160 and that you expect protection from the threat of eminent domain, now—before these corporations have shoved their pipelines through our ground. I believe that we can succeed if we all stand shoulder to shoulder. Your neighbors will thank you! And I thank you for helping protect the communities and the land that I love.
Jessica Wiskus
Lisbon