Navigator rep says Illinois has not denied permit

LEE COUNTY – A representative from the company wanting to build a pipeline through Lee County told supervisors Monday that some misinformation has been released about the status of pipeline operations.
Tracie Gibler, a public affairs manager with Navigator LLC, the company wanting to build the Heartland Greenway carbon sequestration pipeline from South Dakota through Iowa and into Illinois, said previous statements shared at board meetings have been inaccurate.
At a meeting two weeks ago, former Lee County Supervisor Don Hunold and current Lee County Supervisor Ron Fedler both said the Illinois Commerce Commission had denied Navigator’s permit to sequester the pipeline rock shelves deep underground in the state.
But Gibler said Monday that is not the case.
“What might have happened and is being interpreted as such, is that we rescinded our permit so we could update and add another lateral line for two separate sequestration sites.” Gibler said. “We did that for efficiency sake. We only wanted one docket, one permit etc., so we took it back and refiled with all the information in one docket. I think that might be some of the confusion there.”
Gibler said Navigator had not received any prior indication that the permitting would be denied and the company’s decision was based on a change in design of the sequestration process only.
She said the company will resubmit their new plans with a simpler design in the near future and a hearing on that won’t take place until February.
She said Navigator is further behind in the process in Iowa and she doesn’t think a hearing has been set until the second quarter of next year.
“We’re still in the process of talking with landowners, talking to folks like yourselves, meeting with community leaders, and getting our safety plans tuned up and ready to go.”
Lee County resident Doug Abolt called the company out for heavy-handed tactics in negotiating with property owners, saying they were going on property without permission.
Gibler said that too was inaccurate.
“I just want to state for the record that we are not going on any property where we are not wanted,” Gibler said. “If you have those concerns, please have the sheriff let us know. That is a policy for us.”
Abolt said he’s concerned that eminent domain is being granted unlawfully in Lee County, including a recent proceeding that took land from two people in Fort Madison for the NuStar ammonia pipeline.
Lee County Supervisor Chair Garry Seyb said he wanted Navigator to provide data on how many landowners, as a percentage, are voluntarily signing contracts with the pipeline company for easement rights.
“I don’t want squishy numbers, I want solid numbers,” Seyb said. “Most of these projects get more than 90-95 percent voluntary contracts, but I think there are a lot of people who aren’t signing up for this one,” he said.
Supervisor Ron Fedler said he doesn’t believe the pipeline is in the best interest of the county or the community.
“That pipeline is going on the west city limit side around to the north and it's only going to 1,400 feet from the care center,” Fedler said.
“And that’s an issue because of lot of people have respiratory problems and how much gets into the air and influences that, I don’t know. It's way to close on the north side. It’s too big of a risk to take.”
He said a block from that to the south is the West Point Fire Station and the ability to get to airpacks and rescue equipment would be jeopardized in the event of a rupture.
Seyb said it would be good to get some plume studies that show the impacts of a rupture on the line.
Gibler said the pipeline would have shut off valves at a minimum every six miles, but it could be further apart. She said those valves can be shut off immediately by the press of a button and the pipes are monitored manually 24/7, 365 days a year.
Abolt, who is in the valve production industry, said it doesn’t matter how far apart the valves are or how big the pipe is.
“I’m in the automation and control valve industry. I know what those valves can do and how fast they can react. It doesn’t matter if you have six miles of 20-inch pipeline, there’s gonna be a problem. We need real plume studies and we need to be convinced it’s safe,” he said.
“I don’t want to be here and be the guy that screams this for everyone else who won’t show up. But I’m telling you, these CO2 pipelines aren’t necessary, they're a green energy thing pushed through that are not law. We, the people, need to tell our representatives we do not want this.  We the people do not want this pipeline… anywhere in Iowa.”