SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The North Dakota Public Service Commission has denied a permit application from Summit Carbon Solutions for a 320-mile carbon dioxide route in the state.
The state’s PSC denied the route permit application at a special meeting, according to an audio copy of the meeting on the PSC website. This was a 3-0 approval vote.
“SCS has not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the location, construction, operation and maintenance of the project will produce minimum adverse impacts on the welfare of the citizens of North Dakota with the existing record,” Commission chairman Randy Christmann said in the meeting.
Christmann later included that SCS did not show that the proposed project would not have minimal adverse effects on the environment.
The route would have traveled through 10 counties in the state.
The Summit Carbon proposed route would travel through North Dakota on its way to be sequestered at a site there.
Summit Carbon said in a statement that it planned to reapply for a permit.
“Summit Carbon Solutions respects the decision by the North Dakota Public Service Commission, and we will revisit our proposal and reapply for our permit,” Sabrina Zenor, Summit Carbon’s director of marketing and communications said in a statement. “We’re committed to understanding and incorporating the considerations outlined in the decision. We are confident that our project supports state policies designed to boost key economic sectors: agriculture, ethanol, and energy.”
“My decision on this case is not indicative of my opinions regarding CO2 sequestration or importation of CO2 via pipeline at all,” Christmann said later in the meeting. “This is only about this project in this location under these circumstances.”
Summit Carbon Solutions is in the permit application process in South Dakota, Iowa and other states. The Summit proposed route is about 2,000 miles long.
It is one of two companies seeking a permit in South Dakota. Navigator is seeking a permit for a CO2 pipeline route in several counties in the state. Its proposed route is about 1,300 miles long. It would travel through Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota
