Cranking up the heat on the IUB
On Tuesday, July 12th, nearly 60 Iowans confronted the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to make our message clear: we don’t want money-hungry, greenwashing corporations like Summit, Navigator, or Wolf/ADM in our state. Their CO2 pipelines are false solutions to climate change and if approved by the IUB, will be a gross abuse of eminent domain and put rural communities in danger.
61 out of 99 counties are slated to have at least one pipeline company knocking on their door. All three projects are asking the IUB for the ability to enforce eminent domain because everyday Iowans don't want them in our communities and our state. Over 500 Iowans and county supervisors have already filed objections to these pipelines to the IUB.
Seventeen speakers gave compelling testimony to the IUB’s ringleader, Geri Huser, as she and the other board members sat stone-faced and offered no response to heartfelt stories about protecting our land and the lives of Iowans from CO2 pipelines.
Here's what speakers made plain and clear Tuesday:
This is an abuse of eminent domain - which should only be used for public good projects, not private profit.
Landowners are being harassed by pipeline companies and their hired surveyors. One farmer said she has had more calls than in a presidential election year.
Health and safety threats are being ignored. C02 is an asphyxiant, and local emergency response teams are not prepared for a leak.
Companies are spouting greenwashing lies. CO2 pipelines are false climate solutions that prop of the fossil fuel industry.
We must respect and protect tribal land. These projects sanction land theft and harm to Indigenous communities, and threaten sacred ceremonial and burial sites.
At the end of the testimonies, climate fighters, farmers, and landowners linked arms to show IUB board members that we truly do stand together, despite being an unlikely group of allies. Watch this powerful moment captured in this KCCI news story.
After the IUB board meeting, participants decorated their cars and drove down Grand Ave to the Governor's Mansion, honking the whole way, in an attempt to grab Kim Reynold's attention.
Why did we go to Terrace Hill? Because Gov. Reynolds has ignored a longstanding request-- sent over six months ago-- from landowners to discuss their concerns about eminent domain abuse by CO2 pipeline companies.
Could it be because she has received over $160,000 in campaign contributions since 2015 from Bruce Rastetter, the CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions. Who is Reynolds fighting for - everyday Iowans, or the guy who cuts her paychecks?
These corporations and the politicians they bought don't care about climate change; they care about the billions of dollars they will get from carbon credits—generated from our tax dollars.
The IUB heard our voices on Tuesday, and we won't be silenced until all permits for CO2 pipelines are denied. And Kim Reynolds needs to come out of hiding and answer to her constituents, not her corporate interests.