Discussion about the proposed carbon pipeline being built in the area is raising a series of questions from property owners, government officials, and business leaders. A meeting on the issue is scheduled for Saturday morning which the public is invited to attend and participate in.
Barb Miller is an area resident who is in the path of the proposed carbon pipeline from Carbon Solutions. She and her husband refuse to sign over any rights to land for the construction of the pipeline.
The Millers acknowledge that the Emmet Board of Supervisors and other officials are opposed to the construction of the pipeline. They are not alone, and it stems from the danger posed to children and the elderly in the communities along the path of the pipeline.
Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that stays close to the ground suffocating and killing everything from plant life to animals and humans in its concentrated form. The gas would be in liquid form, pressurized, and pumped through the underground pipes till it reaches its destination in the Dakotas where it will be stored underground.
The question of whether the area is prepared to handle a carbon pipeline rupture emergency lies in training, something that emergency staff in Winnebago and Hancock have not specifically had according to Winnebago and Hancock County Emergency Manager Andy Buffington.
Bud Jermaland, along with other concerned Democrats and Republicans will be meeting jointly in the Duncan Community Hall on Saturday at 10am. The rare joint meeting is sponsored by both the Democrat and Republican Central Committees and is free and open to the public regardless of political belief.
Jermaland feels that safety issues have not been addressed very well and he does not want to see another disaster, particularly when we may not be prepared for it.
Jermaland wants the public to be more informed and is asking the public to take a couple hours out of their Saturday to be more prepared and educated on the situation and its dangers.
