Wolf Carbon Solutions failed to notify landowners owning 5,389 parcels of land in the pipeline corridor in Linn, Johnson, Cedar, Clinton and Scott Counties.
At an informational meeting in Linn County, Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) chair Geri Huser announced that Wolf land agents cannot contact landowners who haven’t been notified and landowners do not have to allow surveys on their land if they haven’t been notified about the project.
Sierra Club Iowa Chapter says that Wolf should be forced to restart the informational meeting process.
“Landowners need to be notified properly and given a chance to participate in the IUB process. Wolf needs to start the whole process over again.” said Jess Mazour, Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Conservation program coordinator.
Required by Iowa Law, Wolf compiled a pipeline mailing list to notify landowners in a 2-mile corridor of the pipeline route. However, Wolf official Tracey McDaneld stated, “the company looked at the 90 miles of pipeline planned to cross Iowa and removed any “environmental avoidance” areas — and their landowners — from its mailing list.” McDaneld went on to say “There’s a chance you were part of that removal, and that you’re in the corridor but not part of the corridor”.
“That makes no sense to me. I’m in the corridor and I deserve to be notified,” Cheryl Dakes, impacted landowner said. “Either they made an unacceptable error in getting basic mailing addresses and are now lying about it or they willfully excluded Iowans who will be impacted by the pipelines. Why should we trust them to build a hazardous liquid pipeline through our communities, homes and our farms?”
Landowners who have not been notified of the informational meetings should contact the Office of Consumer Advocate at [email protected] to have a case brought before the IUB.