BROOKINGS — An Aurora resident’s concerns regarding carbon-capture pipelines — and what Brookings County is or isn’t doing to regulate them — got Tuesday morning’s County Commission meeting off to a fast start.

Essentially, Janii White’s talked about safety concerns and how the county needs to add ordinances that address issues associated with those pipelines — regulations that County Development Director Bob Hill said have been on the books since 2009.

White began her efforts two years ago when a letter arrived from Navigator CO2. “It just sent a red flag to me,” she said. “Our whole neighborhood was shocked by this pipeline going in.”

Her concerns haven’t eased, even with Navigator having canceled its Heartland Greenway project in October of last year. That project, according to reporting from South Dakota News Watch’s Joshua Haiar and Seth Tupper, included 111.9 miles of pipeline in Brookings, Moody, Minnehaha, Lincoln and Turner counties.

That’s likely because another carbon-capture pipeline company, Summit Carbon Solutions, has started acquiring the easement options along Navigator’s old CO2 pipeline route in Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, per an Aug. 16 story by Iowa Capital Dispatch’s Jack O’Connor.

“I don’t see any benefits, coming from my point of view, especially to Aurora,” White said, claiming that “it’s not safe for residents — it’s invisible, odorless, deadly.”

All that said, commissioners learned that there hasn’t been any action taken by Summit in Brookings County in terms of permit applications.

“Not at this time,” Hill said, responding to a query from Commissioner Larry Jensen. “Once we get the application, then we would apply our ordinance and we would start asking them hard questions — exactly what, when and where.

“The Brooking County Zoning Commission would be the first one to tackle it, and if then there’s any right-of-way issues and stuff like that, then of course it comes to (the County Commission),” he continued.

“Right now, everything is talk,” Hill pointed out. “We’ve got nothing in stone … as of right now, I’ve got no contact with the pipeline company — CO2 company specifically.”

White ended her time before the commission with a plea.

“Your job here is to protect us. Please protect us before that pipeline goes in. We need to have some ordinances in place,” she said. “It can’t wait — it we wait, it’s too late. So, I’m begging you to please look at this … and to keep us safe, and to put in some setbacks or something to protect us.”

Following White’s presentation, Hill addressed her concerns.

“What I’d like to look at today is discuss — obviously this morning you had a citizen speak about pipelines, and that the commission hasn’t done anything about it,” he said. “I would almost have to beg to differ. In 2009, Brookings County passed a transmission pipeline risk reduction overlay district — it’s in our zoning ordinance online; and anyone is welcome to it.”

He said the first part of the ordinance addresses natural gas, as that’s what is currently present in the county. Deeper in the ordinance, though, is a portion that deals with liquid pipelines, and CO2 pipelines are considered as such.

“Our ordinance, even though we don’t have it in the county at this time, we do go through the steps on what we have to do to permit them,” Hill said.

He noted that the county has two types of zoning related to pipelines — a planning zone and a consultation zone.

Planning zone

• This is an area around a transmission pipeline — natural gas or a liquid, the ordinance applies to both types of pipeline, Hill said (“So it’s not like we’re putting our head in the sand.”) — that is based on the characteristics of the pipeline itself and the surrounding area.

“That’s an important thing,” he said, referring to an example brought up by White in Mississippi involving a CO2 pipeline leak. “That area … they have soil movement. Brookings County has historically not had any massive soil movements and things like that. So to me, you’re looking at apples and oranges when you need to be looking at apples and apples.”

• It also serves as a corridor where risk-based land management decisions may have potential benefits in protecting pipelines by mitigating the immediate consequences of a pipeline incident and facilitating an emergency response to a potential transmission pipeline incident.

Consultation zone

• Hill said that it’s a setback, measured at 660 feet on each side of a transmission pipeline, which defines when a property developer or owner who is planning a new development in the vicinity should initiate dialogue with the transmission pipeline operator.

“This is designed to protect both the landowner … and the pipeline itself,” Hill said. “It doesn’t restrict anyone from building near the pipeline. When a pipeline goes in, whether it’s natural gas or liquid, they do have a right of way they typically purchase, and there’s certain things that cannot be done.

“You can’t grow an oak tree on top of a pipeline because the roots of an oak tree will go right through and damage the pipeline,” he pointed out. “All of that is put in place in the agreements between landowners and the pipeline companies.”

In conclusion, Hill said, “So, our ordinance doesn’t restrict anything from a citizen or a company, either one, dealing with the pipelines.”

Commissioner Mike Bartley also pointed out that information the state Public Utilities Commission has in its possession once Summit files its proposal will also be available to Brookings County.

“As the PUC looks at it, we will also have the ability to look at it,” he said. “We’ll have the opportunity to review all those materials.”

“That is correct,” Hill said. “The policy of this county commission since I’ve been on board for 21 years as the planning and zoning person has been if there’s a Public Utilities Commission action, we sign on as an interested party so we get all correspondence emailed to us following action, whether it’s wind towers, pipelines or big substations.”

In closing, Hill pointed out that pipeline safety is decided at the federal level.

“They don’t necessarily dictate how many inches in the ground and all that. What they do is they ensure that the pipe is the proper thickness,” he explained. “If someone says, ‘Well, pipelines break.’ True. I could show you all kinds of examples of pipelines breaking. I could also show you when bridges fall down and things like that. All I ask is that the commission look at apples to apples and oranges to oranges. We’ll stay abreast of the situation as it progresses, (and) we’ll keep the county informed.”

November ballot issue

Referred Law 21 also came up at Tuesday’s meeting as part of the discussion initiated by White’s concerns. Voters will decide whether Senate Bill 201, passed by the South Dakota Legislature, will remain the law of the land.

Brookings County State’s Attorney Dan Nelson said it was signed by Gov. Kristi Noem and went into effect on July 1. He said the bill was a response to South Dakota’s debate over CO2 pipelines, and that it provides a structure for CO2 pipelines to be implemented in the state.

“I think one of the more controversial aspects of pipelines is the issue of eminent domain,” Nelson said. “It just gives the federal government (and) state governments the ability to use private land for various infrastructure initiatives. The government, obviously, has to show that the private land has a public use that’s important, and then the government can purchase that private land for fair market value with or without the landowner’s consent.”

He continued, “It involves litigation, just as the pipeline issue would be here — but, prior to Senate Bill 201 and after, the eminent domain issue remains the same. The federal government, because this is a federal project, can still use eminent domain here in South Dakota to build pipelines. That didn’t change with this law, and it wouldn’t change if it goes into effect or doesn’t go into effect.

He added that Senate Bill 201 allows counties to create a fee structure for pipelines to pay on a per linear foot, while also providing property tax relief for the landowners that have pipelines going through their counties.

“One of the other primary issues with this bill was all of the permitting and restrictions go through the (state) Public Utilities Commission,” Nelson said. “And so, counties — Brookings County, Moody County, the other counties that are going to deal with this pipeline — they can’t deny a permit or they can’t create a burdensome restriction process through their county ordinances.

“That all goes through the PUC. So prior to this bill, some counties could create such a restriction that maybe wouldn’t allow a pipeline or create extravagant fees for these pipelines. With this bill, counties no longer can do that. All the restrictions and permitting go through the PUC,” he concluded.

Voters will decide Referred Law 21, along with other issues, on Nov. 5 in South Dakota.

— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.