Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approves state’s first carbon capture pipeline

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the state’s first carbon capture pipeline — but only after construction of other parts of the multi-state line is underway. 

The Summit Carbon Solutions project would pipe liquid carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota to sequester it deep underground near Bismarck. The PUC approval Thursday covers a 28-mile pipeline from near Fergus Falls to the North Dakota border. Other Minnesota sections are planned along the 2,500 miles of pipeline in the full project proposal. 

There have been concerns raised about the safety of carbon pipelines. Some environmental organizations have raised concerns about pipeline ruptures, which could hurt local water supplies and be an asphyxiant to humans. A rupture of a carbon pipe in Mississippi in 2020 hospitalized 45 people.

That was a concern for the PUC.

"Once it's released, it does cause kind of an oxygen deprivation, and so you need to know that's happening,” PUC Commissioner John Tuma said. “You can usually deal with it and address it if you know it’s happening. And so one of the conditions is that landowners are given the opportunity to get outside and indoor CO2 detectors.”

Along with giving all landowners within 1,000 feet of the pipeline those detectors, the approval also requires that the company give first responders in the area training on responding to any pipeline issues, and equipment to deal with pipeline issues.

But along with safety conditions, there are also financial conditions.

“They got to fulfill all the obligations for safety and all that stuff that’s pretty normal stuff,” Tuma said “The difficult challenging thing was what if for some reason they start construction and they go bankrupt — what happens?"

Tuma said given that Summit Carbon is a new company, they wanted to make sure that this project doesn’t leave any landowners or workers in a bad position if the project is not completed, so he said they made sure there are some financial protections there. They also required that construction begin in North Dakota, before it begins in Minnesota.

The PUC set other requirements including requiring voluntary landowner agreements along the entire route before the start of construction and compensations for crop damage and reduced yields.     

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) opposed the project, saying it could increase greenhouse gases by making ethanol more competitive.

But they applauded the PUC’s approval terms.

“While we don’t believe this project will help Minnesota achieve its climate goals, we appreciate that the commission took efforts to incorporate key permit provisions that will protect Minnesota if this project moves forward,” said Amelia Vohs, climate program director for the MCEA, in a statement. “This technology is brand new to many states, including Minnesota. This means extra care is needed to ensure Minnesotans aren’t harmed.”

Tuma, with the PUC, said construction on the project could begin as soon as 2026.

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