GRANITE FALLS, Minnesota – Summit Carbon Solutions has now held six meetings aimed at reaching agreements with landowners along the route of the proposed pipeline in Minnesota.
One issue dominates all others: "Our loud and clear message is drainage tiles, drainage tiles, drainage tiles," said Joe Caruso, the company's Minnesota director of public affairs and outreach.
He and other Summit Carbon Solutions representatives spoke at the Xanthate County Commission on Tuesday to discuss the proposed route.The pipeline is expected to run 13.96 miles in Yellow Medicine County and deliver carbon dioxide from the Granite Falls Energy ethanol plant.The nearby pipeline route also includes 8.81 miles in Renville County and 26.2 miles in Redwood County.
Caruso and senior project consultant Chris Hill said the company held open sessions in Heron Lake, Windom, Sacred Heart, Redwood Falls, Granite Falls and Fergus Falls, Minnesota during the first week of April.
Overall, the $4.5 billion project intends to transport carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants in five Midwestern states to North Dakota.
The Minnesota portion of the project initially included 154 miles of pipeline, but with the recent addition to Atwater's Bushmills ethanol plant project, an additional 50 miles is expected.Pipelines serving the Bushmills plant will be connected to the line to serve the Granite Falls energy plant and a pumping station will be required, according to company representatives.
The network will be able to transport 12 million tons of carbon dioxide annually from across the Midwest for underground storage in North Dakota.According to Caruso, about 75% of capacity is currently under contract.
He told the Huangyao County Commission that company officials had heard similar themes at six landlord meetings.Caruso said the meetings showed the company didn't do a good job of explaining "who was involved in the project and why."
"We've done when, how and what, but not who and why," he told commissioners.
Those meetings also showed that there was a lot of misinformation about property rights, he said.The company has no eminent domain.It is seeking voluntary easements along the pipeline in Minnesota.
Company representatives also heard at the meeting about agricultural impacts and operational safety.
Caruso said the company is seeking 50-foot permanent easements and 50-foot temporary easements from landowners along the route for construction.The soil must be restored to its pre-construction quality and productivity, and the agreement with the landowner will include payment for soil degradation caused by construction.
They told the commissioner that the company would be held permanently liable for any damage to the drainage tiles that should have occurred.
As a result of the meeting, the company will work to increase communication with county governments and landowners in the affected areas, Caruso said.It intends to provide quarterly updates to the Commissioner.
The feedback the company has received from county commissioners so far is to encourage more communication, he said.
Commissioner Gary Johnson told delegates that he attended the company's meeting in Granite Falls and believed his questions were answered.He said he felt the company did a better job of being open and willing to work with the public.