Pipeline firm’s lawsuit blitz hits a wall in South Dakota as landowners push back
A carbon pipeline project stretching across five Midwest states faces an uncertain future after aggressive legal tactics by Summit Carbon Solutions sparked fierce opposition and new restrictions in South Dakota.
Eric Ferkenhoff and Josh Kelety report for Lee Enterprises and The Associated Press.
In short:
- Summit Carbon Solutions filed 232 lawsuits against landowners in the Midwest, including 156 eminent domain cases in South Dakota alone, attempting to force access to land for its $9 billion carbon pipeline.
- South Dakota lawmakers responded to the backlash by banning eminent domain for carbon pipelines, jeopardizing the project’s permit and triggering political shifts in the state legislature.
- The pipeline would connect to ethanol plants to capture carbon emissions and store them underground in North Dakota, a move backed by the ethanol industry but challenged by farmers and environmental groups concerned about land rights and safety.
Key quote:
“They did this all to themselves. Their legal plan was, ‘We will force them into submission because the lawsuits will break them.’”
— Brian Jorde, attorney representing landowners
Why this matters:
The standoff over Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon dioxide pipeline through South Dakota is quickly becoming more than just a local dispute — it’s turning into a national proxy battle over the future of energy infrastructure, private property rights, and the credibility of climate solutions rooted in industrial agriculture. What’s happening in South Dakota is reverberating across the Midwest, catalyzing new legislation to restrict eminent domain, unseat incumbents sympathetic to the pipeline, and fuel grassroots resistance that bridges ideological lines. The debate is exposing the tension between urgent climate goals and the means used to pursue them.
Read more: Iowa carbon pipeline regulations challenged by Summit
