A map of the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline route. (Courtesy of Summit Carbon Solutions)
An administrative law judge report recommends that Minnesota approve a small segment of the massive Summit Carbon Solutions project that would pass through states including South Dakota and store millions of tons of carbon dioxide underground in North Dakota.
A final decision from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission could come at its Dec. 12 meeting, a spokesperson for the agency said in an email.
The 28-mile segment in Otter Tail and Wilkin counties would connect the Green Plains ethanol plant at Fergus Falls in northwest Minnesota to about 2,500 miles of pipeline planned by Summit Carbon Solutions.
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If built, the five-state pipeline network would send carbon emissions from ethanol plants to a permanent underground storage area northwest of Bismarck.
The report filed last week by an administrative law judge said an environmental impact statement is adequate and the project is unlikely to pollute Minnesota’s natural resources.