Summit Carbon Solutions plans to build a 2,000-mile network of CO2 pipelines across the Midwest to capture carbon produced by ethanol plants and then sequester it underground in North Dakota. (Map courtesy of Summit Carbon Solutions)

Minnesota agencies have released an environmental impact statement and set hearings on a small section of a huge project to capture carbon from ethanol plants in five states for underground storage in North Dakota.

The environmental impact report filed Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Commerce says the Summit Carbon Solutions project would have a net benefit on greenhouse gas emissions.

“The CO2 sequestered from ongoing annual operations would outweigh construction and operation emissions. This benefit would vary depending on the capture rate and final end use of the captured CO2,” the report says.

One potential end use would be for enhanced oil recovery, using the carbon dioxide to get more oil production from wells in North Dakota.

The report says Summit has indicated it doesn’t intend to market the carbon dioxide for industrial use. Summit has stated the pipeline could be used for that purpose in the future.

Summit says the pipeline is needed to help ethanol plants lower their carbon intensity score and sell fuel for a premium price in low-carbon fuel markets. The pipeline would capture carbon from the Green Plains ethanol plant at Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

The study concludes by saying that the ethanol plant could also reduce its carbon score by lowering its energy use by using renewable energy and using corn grown using climate-friendly practices.

While the EIS was compiled by the Department of Commerce, it is the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission that will decide on Summit’s permit application, likely by the end of the year, the report says.

The application is for about 28 miles of pipeline in Otter Tail and Wilkin counties in northwest Minnesota, starting at the Green Plains plant. It would cross into North Dakota south of Breckenridge.

It is part of an $8 billion project to capture carbon from 57 plants in five states with about 2,500 miles of pipeline. The underground storage area is planned to be northwest of Bismarck in western North Dakota.

The Minnesota PUC has public hearings planned for Aug. 20-21 and evidentiary hearings for Aug. 22-23. A comment period is open through Sept. 11.

Sarah Mooradian is the government relations and policy director for CURE, a Minnesota environmental group that opposes the pipeline. She said the evidentiary hearings will include expert testimony from Summit and CURE and cross-examination of those witnesses.

CURE released a statement Thursday on what it feels are shortcomings in the environmental report, which is similar to a previously released draft report.

“In the Draft EIS released earlier this year, it was clear that the agency staff who prepared it had no expertise assessing this kind of project, and had not hired contractors who did credible work,” said Hudson Kingston, legal director at CURE. “‘Garbage in garbage out’ is not an acceptable standard for an environmental review that will be the baseline for all future assessments of this kind of infrastructure in the state.”

Iowa-based Summit released this statement on the EIS:

“Summit Carbon Solutions respects the comprehensive review process undertaken in the final Environmental Impact Statement and appreciates the thorough assessment of our project’s potential impacts. We look forward to participating in the upcoming PUC hearings and are excited about the opportunities this project will create, including opening access to new markets for farmers and improving farm incomes.”

Summit’s project would take advantage of federal tax credits of $85 per ton of carbon dioxide that is sequestered.

The project has been delayed as Summit attempts to obtain the necessary permits. The North Dakota Public Service Commission rejected a permit application in 2023. A decision on a rehearing of that application is pending with the PSC. The North Dakota Industrial Commission also would need to issue a permit for the storage area.

A North Dakota environmental and property rights group, the Dakota Resource Council, held a rally in opposition to the pipeline Saturday in Bismarck.

A concern of some property owners is the potential use of eminent domain to force landowners to provide right-of-way for the pipeline. But under Minnesota law, eminent domain is not an option for Summit.

In July, Summit gained approval in Iowa but that decision is being appealed. Even if the Iowa permit is upheld, the State Utilities Commission specified that construction cannot begin without the approval of permits in the Dakotas. South Dakota voters will weigh in on a pipeline-related property rights bill this fall.

Some property owners have expressed concerns about safety from a rupture of the hazardous liquid pipeline, effects on property values, and damage to farmland.

The environmental report says that if the pipeline were to rupture, some nearby homes could have CO2 concentrations high enough to be immediately dangerous to life or health.

The report makes several comparisons to the pipeline rupture in Sataria, Mississippi, that sickened dozens of residents. It notes that the Mississippi rupture was caused by heavy rain and a landslide, but that the route area being studied is mostly flat.

The 28-mile section of pipeline in Minnesota would be just 4 inches in diameter. The Mississippi pipeline was 24 inches in diameter. The main branch of the Summit pipeline also would be 24 inches.

Summit has plans for another section of the pipeline that would connect ethanol plants in west-central and southern Minnesota. It has not filed an application with the PUC for that area.

How the public can participate

The final environmental impact statement is available on the Minnesota Department of Commerce website.

The final EIS will also be available for viewing at the Breckenridge Public Library and Fergus Falls Public Library.

In-person public hearing

6 p.m. Aug. 20

Bigwood Event Center

925 Western Ave., Fergus Falls

Online hearing

6 p.m. Aug. 21

Join by WebEx link: https://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota/j.php?MTID=m44d038d6f1cefe2a665ec51b5f856c95

Webinar number: 2490 693 0888

Webinar password: MnPUC! (667820 when dialing from a phone or video system)

Evidentiary hearings

9:30 a.m. Aug. 22-23,

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s Small Hearing Room

121 7th Place E, Suite 350, St. Paul

Submit comments

Online: https://mn.gov/puc/consumers/public-comments

Email: consumer.puc@state.mn.us

Mail: Consumer Affairs Office

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

121 7th Place E, Suite 350

St. Paul, MN 55101

PUC requests comments focus on three questions:

Is the final environmental impact statement adequate?

Should the commission grant the pipeline route permit?

If granted, what additional conditions or requirements should be considered?

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