Moody County’s Joint Board of Commissioners and Planning has approved in a special session — a resolution that would establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of conditional use permits and building permits on pipelines.
The move comes as plans proceed on an underground pipeline project that would transport carbon dioxide (C02) from Valero, the ethanol plant in Aurora, South Dakota, to an underground storage facility in Illinois. A growing number of residents and area farmers are voicing concern about the safety and efficacy of the pipeline as well as frustration over the threat of eminent domain if they don’t voluntarily comply with the line coming through their properties.
The resolution is similar to ones passed by other counties in South Dakota, including McPherson. Months ago the McPherson County Commissioners passed a moratorium on pipelines carrying hazardous materials until they could put proper ordinances in place to provide safety for their communities. Multiple other counties are close to passing similar moratoriums or adopting ordinances, the Moody County Enterprise is told.
“How much good will it do? Probably nothing,” said Commissioner John Schiefelbein. “But hopefully our moratorium along with others will convince the PUC that this should be stopped from happening. The majority of people are against it and we stand with the majority of the people of Moody County.”
Navigator C02 Ventures LLC has not yet filed a formal application for construction with the Public Utilities Commission but plans to later this summer or fall, a company spokesperson told the Moody County Enterprise. The company, in the meantime, has held public meetings and reached out to landowners along its route in recent months informing them of its plans, should the project be approved.

Another proposed pipeline in South Dakota, did file its plans with the PUC last month. Meetings to gather public input on that line were held just this past week. Close to 400 attended the meeting this past week in Sioux Falls alone.
Midwest Carbon Express is a $4.5 billion project that would send carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in five states to western North Dakota, where it can be stored underground.
The resolution passed solely to put a moratorium on pipelines, no additional meetings are scheduled on the resolution. But commissioners do now want to look at whether or not additional changes are needed to zoning ordinances and if so, meetings will be scheduled for future dates. Residents are encouraged to watch for any updates on the matter.
Also heard in the special session:
A recommendation to hire both Elizabeth Scharton as a Full Time Paramedic and David Prokulevich as a Part time Interim Ambulance Director. Both Scharton and Prokulevich were approved and officially begin March 28, 2022.
That a final agreement between Blinsmon Township and River Bend Dairy has been reached. River Bend Dairy will move forward with its original plan to build a paved section of road to get its trucks to the highway and ensure the originally agreed-upon digesters are in place to help with odor mitigation.
A request to host an Easter Egg Hunt on the County Courthouse lawn on April 16, 2022. The request was unanimously approved.
Details on the event can be found in an ad on page 11.