歪歪漫画

PIERRE, S.D. 鈥� Summit Carbon Solutions on Wednesday, March 12, filed a motion asking the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to suspend its current timeline and extend the deadline on its pending pipeline permit application with the agency indefinitely.

This move from Summit comes just days after . House Bill 1052 will stop Summit Carbon Solutions from using eminent domain for its , a five-state, $8 billion project that would capture carbon dioxide emissions from 57 ethanol plants and pipe them to west-central North Dakota for permanent storage underground.

Summit Carbon Solutions said in a statement that they are asking for changes to the timeline of their permit.

鈥淲ith the passage of HB 1052, the ability to conduct necessary route surveys has changed, impacting the timeline for our South Dakota permit application. These surveys are critical to demonstrating the feasibility of construction and operation along the proposed route,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淕iven these challenges, we have requested a review and adjustment of the schedule accordingly. Summit Carbon Solutions remains committed to working through this process and advancing the project in states that support energy and innovation.鈥�

Contributed / Domina Law Group

Brian Jorde, an attorney for Domina Law Group, who has represented South Dakota landowners with the South Dakota Easement Team at state-based regulatory agency proceedings as well as against eminent domain threats from pipeline companies, said in a press release that this is a wise move for Summit.

鈥淕iven Summit鈥檚 proposed route does not respect County rules, regulations, and ordinances, is not supported by even a simple majority of directly affected landowners, and therefore, cannot be constructed,鈥� Jorde said. 鈥淚f Summit can find a path through South Dakota, they are free to do so, but the current application should be returned and dismissed, to let the landowners who have been tormented for nearly four years get back to their lives.鈥�

In the motion to the PUC, Summit attorneys asked that the proceedings be paused for review and adjustment of the schedule, citing the current timeline as 鈥渦nrealistic鈥� given their ability to obtain survey permission has changed due to HB 1052.

Kennedy Tesch / Agweek

"This request for extension is a clear sign that Summit knows they have lost the trust of South Dakota, and will be unable to proceed on their original timeline without being able to force surveys on unwilling landowners. As our new governor said so well, that trust is hard to earn back again once it is lost,鈥� said Chase Jensen, senior organizer with Dakota Rural Action, a group that has played a role in organizing opposition against the carbon pipeline.

Dennis Feickert, chairman of the South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance, said this move is just a continuation of Summit鈥檚 ongoing stall tactics.

鈥淚 think that it's kind of a wait and see kind of thing. I don't know what their tactics are,鈥� Feickert said. 鈥淚t's like a chess game. I don't know what their next move is.鈥�

Feickert, who is the newly appointed chairman for the group, took over in February for Jim Eschenbaum, who was recently appointed as the new chair for the South Dakota Republican Party.

鈥淚'm proud and humbled to be asked to be the chairman of a wonderful, wonderful group of people that have gotten up and stood up and fought for property rights, fought for freedom,鈥� Feickert said. 鈥淢y hope is that we can hold the group together, and that there'll be other issues that will come up, that we'll be able to organize and work on.鈥�

While Feickert said is thankful that South Dakota voted to protect private property rights with the passage of HB 1052, he does have concerns that Summit鈥檚 lobbyists in D.C. may be working closely with the new administration.

鈥淭hey've got people out in Washington, D.C., and I'm sure that they'd love to see an executive order by the President, or they'd like to see some type of quick legislation that would eliminate, or do away with county ordinances and the state's PUC guidelines and regulations,鈥� Feickert said.