House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, speaks on the state House floor on Jan. 16, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE — A committee of state lawmakers endorsed three bills Monday that would protect some landowner rights but would not prevent a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline.
The committee considered five bills that would impact the pipeline project. Three passed the House Commerce and Energy Committee and two failed.
The three bills now headed to the full House of Representatives would add protections for private property owners when pipeline companies conduct surveying, ensure better terms for landowners in agreements with pipeline companies, and add financial protections for landowners subjected to eminent domain.
One of the defeated bills would have prevented carbon pipelines from using eminent domain, and the other would have required carbon pipelines to have a regulatory permit before pursuing eminent domain.
The bills come after the state’s elected utility regulators denied Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline permit application last year, citing the route’s conflicts with some county ordinances that require minimum distances between pipelines and existing features. Summit has said it plans to reapply.