Summit Carbon asks for timeline pause after SD eminent domain ban

Earlier this month, South Dakota signed into law a ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. Now Summit Carbon Solutions, the developer seeking permitting approval for a 2,500 mile carbon dioxide pipeline across five states, is asking the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to pause its permitting schedule.

The company cites the new eminent domain ban for carbon pipelines as the reason, stating that their “ability to obtain survey permission has changed” and that the “surveys which are necessarily required to inform the route decisions as to right of way will be significantly delayed.”

The proposed pipeline route crosses portions of Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota and would deliver carbon dioxide emissions from more than 50 ethanol plants to an underground storage site in North Dakota. The project hinges on permit approval in all five states and has received approval from Iowa, North Dakota, and Minnesota. South Dakota rejected the company’s original permit application in 2023.

The Associated Press reports on the passage of South Dakota’s eminent domain ban on March 9, 2025:

Legal action is possible

It’s unclear whether Summit will pursue legal action but the company said in a statement that “all options are on the table” and the project “moves forward” in other states. The company promised it would have more news soon.

Large pipeline projects typically rely on eminent domain, with companies arguing that even if most landowners agree to grant access to their property, a project can be scuttled if only a few refuse…

Will the pipeline ever be built?

It has been four years since Summit proposed building the pipeline, along with two other companies that later abandoned their plans. It has been a challenging process for Summit, which dealt with lawsuits in Nebraska and elsewhere, opposition before a regulatory commission in Iowa and now the eminent domain ban in South Dakota.

In its statement, Summit expressed optimism about the future but didn’t offer specifics about how it could build a pipeline without eminent domain authority in South Dakota.

Summit’s path forward is unclear, as a Summit spokesperson “did not respond to questions [from the Associated Press] Friday about whether the company would consider a new route.”

The company has previously argued before the South Dakota Supreme Court that they are a common carrier and ought to be allowed to invoke eminent domain. The Court rejected that argument and said it was “premature to conclude that [Summit Carbon Solutions] is a common carrier, especially where the record before us suggests that CO2 is being shipped and sequestered underground with no apparent productive use.”