South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioners, from left, Chris Nelson, Kristie Fiegen and Gary Hanson participate in a meeting Sept. 6, 2023, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
The company proposing a carbon dioxide pipeline has formally requested that a South Dakota regulator recuse herself from the project’s permit application because of an alleged conflict of interest, but the regulator said she does not have “a legal conflict.”
In a letter sent Thursday, Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions asked Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen to disqualify herself. That would allow the governor to appoint another state official to fill in for Fiegen during the three-member commission’s consideration of the application.
Summit wants to construct a $9 billion, five-state pipeline to capture and transport some of the carbon dioxide emitted by 57 ethanol plants to an underground storage area in North Dakota. The project would capitalize on federal tax credits incentivizing the prevention of heat-trapping carbon emissions into the atmosphere.