Carbon Pipeline Companies Say They Will Cover Costs of Upgraded Emergency Response Training, Equipment

Officials in a northwest Iowa city are considering whether to join other local governments in sending the Iowa Utilities Board a letter objecting to development of carbon capture pipelines. Estherville’s City Council has held a work session to gather information about the Navigator and Summit pipelines that would pass through Emmet County. Estherville Fire Chief Travis Sheridan says if there’s a pipeline rupture, his department would likely need a new mobile vehicle that’s equipped with air packs.

Sheridan is also Emmet County’s Emergency Management Director Craig Schoenfeld, a spokesman for developers of the Navigator pipeline, says the company will provide equipment and training.

Kylie Lang, the Iowa project manager for Summit Carbon Solutions, says carbon pipelines are not new technology and the companies are preparing for potential leaks.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association has sent an alert to its members today (Thursday), saying a bill pending in the Iowa House is a major threat to the ethanol industry. The bill establishes new rules that ethanol backers say would derail the proposed carbon pipelines.