As more landowners organize in an effort to fight the proposed Navigator and Summit carbon capture pipelines slated to be built across Moody County and the state, the Biden Administration announces more incentives for the pipeline companies to move their respective projects forward.
This past Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy launched a $2 billion loan program to fund the construction of pipelines, rail transport and other shipping methods. The Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation program, or CIFIA, will be available through 2026, unless it’s spent before then. “The CIFIA program will help industry overcome the challenges to accessing the upfront capital needed to build shared infrastructure projects that are essential to advancing our clean energy economy,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement this past week to the HuffPost. “One giant challenge in deploying carbon management technologies to reduce emissions is to be able to transport the CO2 to where it is ultimately sequestered or used up.”
But more entities are questioning whether or not the technology is sound, safe or if it’ll even be relevant by the time the pipelines might open for transport.
The Navigator C02 Ventures “Heartland Greenway” project would originate at the Valero plant just north of Moody County, and run south through the county on its way to a sequestration site in Illinois. The company filed a much anticipated permit application to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on September 29th.
According to the filing, “The Project consists of 111.9 miles of carbon dioxide pipeline in South Dakota that will cross the counties of Brookings, Moody, Minnehaha, Lincoln, and Turner. More specifically, the Project consists of three segments: 1) the Aurora to Hartley lateral that will be approximately 63.6 miles of 8- inch diameter pipeline; 2) the POET Chancellor lateral that will be approximately 22.6 miles of 6- inch diameter pipeline; and 3) the POET Hudson lateral that will be approximately 25. 7 miles of 6- inch diameter pipeline. In addition, one inline inspection tool launcher/receiver site will be constructed in Lincoln County. No pump stations are proposed in South Dakota for the Project. Applicant estimates the total cost of the proposed Project in South Dakota to be $142 million.”

PIpeline officials have approached local leaders about the money they would see in return for their investment in the state. Moody County Commissioners meanwhile, have put in place a temporary moratorium on the issuance of conditional use permits and building permits on pipelines, in the hopes of best protecting local landowners rights.
According to Dakota Rural Action, “In addition to notifying folks within 1/2 mile of the route that they had filed, Navigator also gave the following notice: ‘If you do not wish to coordinate with our team, please note that under South Dakota law, we have the right to enter land for surveys not thirty (30) days from the date of this notice and entry for survey purposes is not considered a trespass.’”
Pipeline officials state on their website that, “We are committed to working in good faith with all landowners throughout the ROW (rite of way) process to achieve mutually acceptable terms and conditions.” However, if that doesn’t happen, it would use eminent domain to complete the route if landowners don’t agree to the project voluntarily on their land.
Dakota Rural Action and a growing number of local landowners are encouraging anyone opposed to the lines and wanting fair representation to join what’s called the South Dakota Easement Team (SDET). SDET is involved in a constitutional challenge to the law allowing private companies to effectively utilize eminent domain even before receiving a permit from the PUC.
Public hearings are scheduled with the Public Utilities Commission on; Monday November 21st at 5:30 p.m. at the Canton Performing Arts Center in Canton; Tuesday, November 22nd at 11:30 a.m. at the Janklow Community Center in Flandreau; and Tuesday, November 22nd at 5:30 p.m. in the Washington Room of the Ramkota Conference Center in Sioux Falls.
Anyone wanting to intervene and file for party status must file a formal application with the PUC by 5:00 p.m. on November 28th.
For more on SDET, visit www.SouthDakotaEasement.org.
For more on Navigator, visit https://heartlandgreenway.com.
A copy of the Application is on file with the Brookings, Moody, Minnehaha, Lincoln, and Turner County auditors. The Application and all other documents in the docket, including detailed maps of the Project may be accessed on the Commission’s website at www.puc.sd.gov under Commission Actions, Commission Dockets, Hydrocarbon and Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Dockets, 2022 Hydrocarbon and Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Dockets, HP22-002.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is expected to set new rules and standards for CO2 pipelines later this year. It follows a C02 pipeline leak in Satartia, Mississippi where dozens were hospitalized after a C02 pipeline break.