South Dakota regulators deny Summit Carbon Solutions permit application on first day of hearing
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has decided to rule in favor of a staff attorney's motion to deny Summit Carbon Solutions' permit application for their $5.5 billion Midwest Carbon Express pipeline.
Staff Attorney Kristen Edwards requested an order from commissioners Friday to deny Summit Carbon's permit on the grounds the company's carbon dioxide pipeline currently does not comply with "all applicable laws and rules" under South Dakota Codified Law.
Acting Commissioner Josh Haeder, standing in for PUC Chairperson Kristie Fiegen throughout the Summit Carbon docket, made the motion to accept staff's denial request Monday. Commissioner Chris Nelson put forward a substitute motion to rescind the docket's Nov. 15 application deadline and indefinitely postpone the hearing, but this motion was not supported by Haeder or PUC Vice Chairperson Gary Hanson.
"It is my estimation after listening to the testimony today that Summit Carbon cannot demonstrate at this time or in the near future that they have the ability to route the pipeline as proposed," Haeder said. "Without … preemption, you've made crystal clear in your prefiled testimony that various county ordinances make this an impossible project at this time."
Related: Summit Carbon pushes back against PUC staff motion to deny company permit
The regulators ultimately voted 3-0 in support of PUC staff's motion to deny the application.
The denial decision is not outright fatal to the project, but Summit Carbon will have to reapply for a permit if it intends to build its pipeline in South Dakota, essentially restarting their application process at square-one and further pushing back the earliest day they could receive a permit.
In a press release provided after the decision, Summit Carbon said it "respects the decision" made by the PUC and plans to refile its permit application sometime in the future.
"SCS intends to do just that, to refine its proposal and reapply for a permit in a timely manner," the company said in the release. "SCS remains committed to the South Dakota ethanol industry and the growth of South Dakota's energy industry."
PUC staff's motion was made after Summit Carbon filed its own motion to withdraw its request for an order to preempt local county ordinances adopted by Brown, McPherson, Minnehaha and Spink counties Thursday. Summit Carbon initially intended to argue setback ordinances, which the company views as unreasonably restrictive to the construction of its project, were superseded by federal regulations with smaller buffer zones.
Because Summit Carbon pulled its motion to preempt local ordinances, the company essentially allowed the setback ordinances to resume legal authority over its pipeline while also admitting their pipeline route does not comply with said ordinances.
“We respect this initial ruling and remain committed to South Dakota and deeply appreciative of the overwhelming support we have received from landowners and community members,” Summit Carbon CEO Lee Blank said in the release. “We are hopeful that through collaborative engagement with these counties we can forge a path forward to benefit South Dakota and its citizens.”
The decision to deny Summit Carbon's permit application comes less than a week after Navigator Heartland Greenway, a competing carbon capture company based in Nebraska, saw its own permit request be denied after weeks of hearings.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota regulators deny Summit Carbon Solutions permit application