Conversations Not Done on Eminent Domain

A House-passed bill to set new guidelines for development of carbon pipelines has been tabled in the Senate, but Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says the conversation isn’t over.

Whitver is the leader of the 34-member Republican Caucus in the Senate.

The House voted 73 to 20 in favor of a bill that would have required developers to get voluntary access to 90 percent of the properties along the pipeline routes before eminent domain authority could be used to force the other landowners to grant access to their property. While that bill was not considered in the senate, Whitver suggests lawmakers will continue to discuss how and whether to intervene.

It’s possible the Iowa Utilities Board review of the three proposed pipeline projects will not be completed before the 2024 legislature reconvenes. A recent Des Moines Register Iowa Poll found nearly eight out of 10 Iowans surveyed oppose the use of government’s eminent domain authority to compel reluctant landowners to sign over property along the pipeline routes.