A pair of area residents encouraged the Page County Board of Supervisors Nov. 22 to create an ordinance regulating the proposed development of a liquid carbon dioxide pipeline in the county.
Jan Norris of Montgomery County and Marty Maher of rural Imogene addressed the board during the public comments portion of its meeting Tuesday at the Page County Courthouse. Both residents voiced their opposition to the pipeline and urged the Supervisors to proceed with adopting an ordinance to control the local development of the pipeline.
Proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, LLC, the liquid carbon dioxide pipeline would cross 30 counties in Iowa, as well as involving four other states. Carbon dioxide emissions from 34 ethanol plants in those five states would be captured and transported by the pipeline to Bismarck, N.D., where it would be stored.
The pipeline would run through Page County near the border of Fremont County. Approximately seven of the 685 miles of pipeline in Iowa would be located in Page County.
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Norris said the pipeline is proposed to be installed behind her home between two farms owned by Norris and her husband. The farms are located in southwest Montgomery County near Highway 59.
“Although Page County only has only a few miles involved, every parcel counts if you are a land owner,” Norris said. “Other pipelines have shown that construction permanently damages the land. Landowners can never build a building or even plant a tree along the route. Communities cannot expand. Fields are cut in half. Timbers and habitats are forever removed and our federal tax dollars will pay for it all.”
Maher agreed the construction of the pipeline would have a detrimental effect on the top soil in Page County. He said the pipeline would run diagonally through his farm and would compact the soil.
“When you compact the soil platelets, it removes the ability of the soil to absorb water. With the machines they’re using, they will compact the bejeebers out of it,” Maher said.
“It won’t grow anything. You’re going to be, basically, a whole year without having any cover crop on that land. So, it’s detrimental to the soil and detrimental to the long-term use of that soil.”
Norris also thanked Page County for being one of 44 counties along the route of the pipeline who have filed an objection to the use of eminent domain by a for-profit company to acquire the land needed for the project.
Earlier in November, Norris said Shelby County approved a pipeline ordinance. Norris said Shelby County enlisted the aid of a legal expert in drafting the ordinance.
“They fully anticipated being sued by Summit, knowing it was a matter of when, not if. So when they were served last week it was no surprise,” Norris said.
“Gentlemen, you need a county ordinance to protect the citizens of our county,” Maher said.
Also Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the closure and vacation of a segment of 245th Street located southwest of Yorktown. Since no public comment was received, the hearing was closed.
The board then approved the closure and vacation of the 890 feet of roadway as requested by both of the involved land owners. An adjoining segment of the road had previously been closed by the county.
In other business, the board approved publishing notice of a vacancy on the Page County Veteran Affairs Commission. Veterans wishing to serve on the commission may contact the office of the Page County Auditor or go online for an application.
The deadline to apply for the position is 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22. The vacant term on the commission expires in 2023.
Supervisor Chuck Morris also agreed to open and close the restrooms Nov. 25 for the Lighted Christmas Parade.
