Iowa Landowners Are Being Sued By Carbon Pipeline Companies

Debates continue to heat up as three companies are trying to obtain hundreds of miles of land to install carbon pipelines.

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Much of the debate is over how the pipelines are gaining access to all this land, and whether or not using eminent domain is the best way to get this land procured. However, one company, Navigator CO2 Ventures, is turning to the courts.

An article in Iowa Capital Dispatch says that in August, Navigator CO2 Ventures sued four sets of landowners to gain access to their properties in order to survey it. The company had petitions filed for injunctive relief, landowners in  and Woodbury counties stating they repeatedly refused to grant access to their land and threatened land agents.

The land agents were doing land surveys to help determine the path of the pipeline.

According to Iowa Capital Dispatch, threats included one landowner’s spouse yelling “Get off my land before I let the dog go,” and another landowner “nearly ran over” an agent.

In the petition, Navigator cited Iowa law stating;

A pipeline company may enter upon private land for the purpose of surveying and examining the land to determine direction or depth of a pipeline by giving ten days' written notice by restricted certified mail to the landowner and to any person residing on or in possession of the land.

 

The entry for land surveys authorized in this section is not a trespass and may be aided by injunction.

By filing these petitions, Navigator is hoping to prevent landowners from interfering with land surveys.

The petitions were filed against Dennis Hart in Butler County, R.V. Hassman L.P. in Butler County, William and Vicki Hulse in Woodbury County, and Martin Koenig in Clay County.

Iowa isn't the only place seeing these lawsuits.

Summit Carbon Solutions has started suing landowners that have also refused to allow land surveyors onto their land in North and South Dakota.