Few, if any, spoke deliberately and openly in favor this past week of the proposed carbon capture pipeline during a public hearing on ordinance revisions regarding pipeline facilities in Moody County.
Most who took to the podium at the Janklow Community Center to speak on possible revisions to ORDINANCE NO. 2023-01, which deals directly with any new pipeline facility construction that requires South Dakota Public Utilities Commission approval, voiced concerns.
The original ordinance, for those unfamiliar with the issue, was first addressed in 2013 (2013-02 Zoning Ordinance). It has since been amended and the current revisions being discussed come as a relatively new type of technology is proposed for the state and region. This technology, called carbon capture, aims to take greenhouse gas emissions created by ethanol and other biofuel related plants and transport them in a liquid form via a pipeline to an underground storage facility.
In Moody County’s case, the ethanol plant hoping to take advantage of the technology is Valero, which is to our north in Aurora. The pipeline would run from Aurora and through Moody County, Minnesota and Iowa, to Illinois, picking up other partners along the way.
The company Valero is currently partnering with to implement that technology is Heartland Greenway (aka Navigator).
The partners locally, and many others across the state, region and globe, believe the technology is needed to slow the process of global warming. A representative from Valero and Navigator were both at last week’s hearing and spoke to what they say is the need for the project and the efficacy of the technology.
Others worry carbon capture doesn’t at all do what it promises, may actually be a detriment to the crops and farmers they are led to believe it’ll help, and otherwise is far more dangerous if not deadly than of any benefit — especially after the horrific scene a carbon capture pipeline break in Satartia, Mississippi created in 2020.

One by one at this latest public hearing, primarily county residents who are likely to have the pipeline running through their farmland and acreages, asked Moody County Commissioners if the proposed setbacks, depth requirements and other restrictions — specifically when it comes to the proposed Heartland line or any future such pipelines, go far enough.  
Former Commissioner Rick Veldkamp was among the first to speak.
“When we put the moratorium in place last year, the main issue was setbacks,” he said. “I guess, we thought in this period of time we’d get some direction. But after looking at what’s happening elsewhere, we see counties with 1500 feet (setbacks), 2500 feet, 750 feet. So the question is, what is a reasonable setback…and as much research as I’ve been able to do, nobody knows.”
He recommended the Commision, if it hadn’t yet done so, look very carefully at the report done by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration Safety Administration in the wake of the Satartia incident and how far that break was from town. (https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2022-05/Failure%20Investigation%20Report%20-%20Denbury%20Gulf%20Coast%20Pipeline.pdf) No one and no safety model ever anticipated released C02 in the event of a break would reach the community. It did, incapacitating dozens that either lived in or or were traveling in that area, including first responders. No one died that day, but 45 people were hospitalized and the town evacuated until the cloud dissipated.  
“So we know for a fact that there was a significant effect one mile from the point of the leak. So that’s one point of reference I think needs to be looked at,” he told Commissioners.
Others voiced concerns that the line might cross the Big Sioux River and the Aquifer at various points and raised questions about what would happen to the drinking water supply should there be a leak.
Aaron Johnson of rural Moody County added, “I guess another thing I want you to consider is depth of cultivation. We’ve all seen stuck tractors and stuck sprayers. The proposed pipeline being only 4-6 feet deep in some areas…we know things can get pretty bad in a hurry if there is a soft disturbed piece of ground that gets worked with a heavy piece of equipment. When you’re sinking in with sprayer tires, you’re asking for trouble.”
Among the proposed changes to Moody County’s ordinance:
Adding the language “pipeline facility” to the Agricultural District, Conditional Uses, extra  performance standards to pipeline facilities, and definitions.
“Minimum setback shall be one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) feet from cautionary uses. Exception: Municipal Corporation boundaries shall be five thousand two hundred eighty (5,280) feet. Setback shall be the minimum horizontal distance measured from the closest municipal parcel boundary to the center line of the proposed pipeline.
●    The setback shall be the minimum horizontal distance measured from the wall line of the neighboring “cautionary use” to the center line of the proposed pipeline or wall line of any above ground pipeline facility structure.
i. Exception: The Board of Adjustment may allow setback/separation distances to be less than the established distance identified if the applicant obtains waiver(s) from owners of property where the “cautionary use” is within the required separation/setback distance. If approved, such agreement is to be recorded and filed with the County Register of Deeds. Said agreement shall be binding upon the heirs, successors, and assigns of the title holder and shall pass with the land.”
For more on what the revised ordinance might include, log onto the County website at moodycounty.net, click on departments, then zoning. https://www.moodycounty.net/zoning-board/ There, written comments are posted and the ordinance in its current state and proposed revisions can be read in full. The Zoning Board will meet to discuss any ordinance revisions on June 12, 9 a.m. at the Courthouse. The meeting is open to the public.