Controversy surrounding carbon pipelines coming through the area have now taken an interesting local twist. The controversy is whether family farms want to give up land to companies in order to bury pipelines bearing carbon from ethanol plants to the Dakotas.
Gary Schleusner, a farmer near Duncan already has a problem with a gas pipeline running through land that he farms.
Schleusner says these gas lines are no longer at the depth they were when they were originally installed where he farms. For Schleusner, this cumulative half acre of farmland is becoming more and more problematic. He cites this as a possible example of what could happen in the future with carbon pipelines buried in the ground.
While the pipeline appears to be getting closer to the surface, it may eventually render the ground above and around it unfarmable. KIOW News called the gas company who owns the lines and they said they are working directly with the owner of the land on a remedy to the situation.
The vast majority of farmers in the path of planned pipelines are against the idea of future lines getting into the ground. Schleusner wants everyone to know the issues he is dealing with.
Landowners should take note that the carbon lines will not fall under federal regulatory control like these gas lines are. Instead, the Iowa Board of Public Utilities will, but they do not have the same exact rules and regulations that the federal authorities do. Schleusner is concerned that without federal regulation the lines may become a problem for future generation farmers.
