Holt is Optimistic on Proposed Pipeline Bill

A lead sponsor of a bill that would set new regulations for proposed carbon pipelines projects says there may be changes in the bill when it’s debated in the House. Republican

Representative Steven Holt of Denison says the main part of the bill would require that developers get voluntary access to 90 percent of the miles along the pipeline route before state officials could grant them eminent domain authority to seize the rest.

Holt says he’s confident the House will vote on the bill before month’s end.

Bills in the Iowa Senate that outlined new rules for carbon pipelines never made it past an earlier deadline. Representative Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the concern is the bill will die in the senate.

The two House lawmakers made their comments during a weekend appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa PBS. Last month, Governor Reynolds said she’s watching to see what happens with the House bill. While saying there could be areas where pipeline regulations could be tweaked, Reynolds told reporters she’d be having conversations with lawmakers about how new regulations could impact the ethanol industry. The pipelines are touted as a way to make ethanol carbon free and therefore expand markets the corn-based fuel.