Polk County will vote to oppose Iowa pipeline project

Polk County Supervisors are drafting a letter to object to Navigator CO2 Venture's proposed 1,300-mile pipeline project, multiple supervisors tell Axios.

• The route would cross 33 of Iowa's 99 counties, including the northeast portion of Polk.

Why it matters: It's a showdown between property owner rights and a business that contends its project offers widespread economic and environmental benefits to the public.

Catch up fast: Navigator CO2 is a spinoff of the Dallas-based company Navigator Energy Services.

• Its proposed Heartland Greenway project would capture carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertilizer plants in five states and permanently store it underground in central Illinois.

Driving the news: The pipeline route has been adjusted since it was first proposed in November. As a result, additional public meetings have been set as part of an approval process through the Iowa Public Utilities Board (IUB).

• A Polk County meeting is at noon on Sept. 21. A location hasn't yet been set.

What's happening: Polk plans to join about two dozen other Iowa counties in objecting to the project in a letter to the IUB prior to next month's meeting, supervisor’s chairperson Angela Connolly told Axios.

• The driving concern is the use of eminent domain but there's also worry about its impact on soil quality, supervisor Matt McCoy said.

Of note: City officials have fielded many questions about the project, including concerns about landowner rights, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie said in a statement to Axios Tuesday.

• It was unclear whether the DSM City Council might follow Polk's lead.

The other side: Navigator wants landowners to hear them out so they better understand the project, company spokesperson Elizabeth Burns-Thompson told Axios Tuesday.

• Property owners would be compensated for easements and loss in crop production. Restoration projects would help return soil to pre-pipeline conditions.
• The project is a $1.8 billion investment in Iowa that will generate millions of dollars in property tax revenue and thousands of construction jobs, she said.

What's next: State and federal permitting processes will launch in coming months.

• Construction could start in 2024 and be completed in 2025.