Domina Law Group Managing Lawyer Brian Jorde was recently interviewed by The N'West Iowa Review for an article discussing the past year’s legal battle pitting Iowa landowners against several proposed carbon pipeline projects.
As reported by The N’West Iowa Review, Iowa residents have been facing off with Big Energy over two proposed pipeline projects – the Midwest Carbon Express from Summit Carbon Solutions, and the Navigator Heartland Greenway from Navigator CO2 Ventures.
Both pipelines would capture emissions from ethanol plants and transport liquified CO2 through thousands of miles of pipeline for underground sequestration, with Summit’s pipeline terminating in North Dakota and Navigator’s in Illinois. The pipelines would also wind through substantial portions of Northwest Iowa, with the Navigator Heartland Greenway extending through 33 Iowa counties alone.
Now, over a year since the projects were proposed, landowners are continuing to voice concerns over health and environmental impacts, the potential effects on farmland, and the companies’ attempts to be granted eminent domain – a right typically reserved for government use – to obtain easements to construct the pipelines on private land.
Brian Jorde Weighs in on Iowans’ Legal Fight
The potential use of eminent domain by private companies is what’s uniting many Iowa landowners in a battle that’s steadily heating up, especially after a proposed bill that would have stripped the Iowa Utilities Boards’ power to grant eminent domain failed in the Senate earlier this year.
Now, many landowners have teamed up with Domina Law Group, Attorney Brian Jorde, and organizations like the Sierra Club to pursue other legal challenges.
Brian Jorde, who’s leading the legal efforts for landowners in Iowa and other Midwest states affected by the pipelines, was interviewed by The N’West Iowa Review about what’s brining landowners together. As he notes:
“There’s power in numbers with other like-minded, concerned Iowa landowners. We have to mass up and group together to try to fight against the power of the political machine and the millions and millions of dollars they can throw around to buy people off.”
Jorde goes on to note that county-level legal actions across Ohio are currently in their early stages, and that the same issues will be challenged in surrounding states. For now, Jorde and our firm are continuing to speak with landowners who have questions about the pipelines, easements, and their property rights. You can learn more about the work being done on behalf of Iowa landowners at www.IowaEasement.org.
You can read the full article featuring quotes from Brian Jorde here.