Updated February 20, 2025
Note: Some activity in these dockets refer to the Iowa Utilities Commission by the agency's name prior to July 1, 2024, Iowa Utilities Board (IUB).
Summit Carbon Solutions - SCS Carbon Transport Dockets
Summit Carbon Solutions (Summit Carbon) and an affiliated company, SCS Carbon Transport LLC (SCS), propose to construct the following hazardous liquid pipeline projects in 15 dockets:
Docket No. HLP-2023-0004 - Summit Carbon filed on June 19, 2023, a request for informational meetings in Floyd and Mitchell counties regarding an additional 31-mile, 6-inch diameter pipeline that would connect to the Midwest Carbon Express, a pipeline the company proposed to construct in an application in Docket No. HLP-2021-0001. On June 20, 2023, Sierra Club Iowa Chapter filed a motion to consolidate with Docket No. HLP-2021-0001. The IUB issued an order on July 27, 2023, denying the motion for consolidation. Public informational meetings have been held in Floyd and Mitchell counties, as required. Summit Carbon filed its Petition for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Permit on October 29, 2024.
Docket Nos. HLP-2024-0001 through HLP-2024-0014 - On June 28, 2024, SCS filed a request to hold public informational meetings from August 26 to September 20, 2024, for a carbon capture and sequestration project spanning 23 counties with approximately 340 miles of 6- and 8-inch diameter CO2 pipeline. SCS proposes to build 18 trunk and lateral pipelines that would connect POET Bioprocessing (POET) and Valero Renewables (Valero) facilities to Summit Carbon's proposed Midwest Carbon Express. SCS provided county-specific maps in the respective dockets. The IUC approved the meeting dates by letter on July 5. All informational meetings have been held and the IUC's presiding officer verified that SCS complied with the informational meeting requirements in 199 Iowa Administrative Code 13.2. SCS began filing its permit applications in these dockets on October 11, 2024, and concluded the petition filings on February 10, 2025.
Once a permit application is filed, IUC staff begins reviewing the petition and exhibits for compliance.
Initial Application filed by Summit Carbon Solutions - Docket No. HLP-2021-0001
Summit Carbon filed a petition (application) in January 2022 to construct, maintain, and operate 688 miles of of 6- to 24-inch diameter pipeline. The project, known as the Midwest Carbon Express, is the main pipeline in the overall project proposed by Summit Carbon.
Regarding Docket No. HLP-2021-0001, over 34 months the IUC:
- conducted 33 public informational meetings
- received approximately 50,000 pages of prefiled testimony and exhibits from hundreds of witnesses and landowners
- conducted a public hearing over 25 days
- accepted more than 150 intervenors into the docket
- heard testimony at hearing from more than 200 witnesses and landowners
- reviewed nearly 7,500 pages of hearing transcript, and
- reviewed almost 4,200 written comments, including 600 filed after the deadline set by Iowa law.
Final Decision and Order issued
The IUC issued its Final Decision and Order in Docket No. HLP-2021-0001 on June 25, 2024. Read the complete order.
Permit issued
On August 28, 2024, the IUC issued a permit to Summit Carbon Solutions in Docket No. HLP-2021-0001 to construct the 688.01-mile hazardous liquid pipeline. The IUC found Summit Carbon was in substantial compliance with the Final Decision and Order issued in the docket and noted that Summit Carbon, although receiving a permit, still must meet all conditions of the June 25 order before it may begin construction.
Additional Information
Pipeline Permit Process
The IUC has authority over the routing and siting of hazardous liquid pipelines in Iowa. When a company wants to build a pipeline to transport a hazardous liquid, it must first get a permit from the IUC. Requirements can be found in Iowa Code chapter 479B.
Public informational meetings are the first step in the process. Informational meetings are required in each county where real property or property rights are affected by the proposed project. A company cannot file an application until at least 30 days after the final informational meeting has been held in any affected county. Comments made at informational meetings are not part of the evidentiary record.
Comments, objections, and letters of support
You may submit information in an open docket by one of these methods:
- Online - Use the IUC’s Open Docket Comment Form. You can also choose whether to receive email notifications when there are filings in the docket.
- By email - Send to customer@iuc.iowa.gov.
- In writing - Submit written comments to Iowa Utilities Commission, Attn: Customer Service, 1375 E. Court Ave., Des Moines, IA 50319-0069.
Be sure to include the docket number on your comments.
All written comments, objections, and letters of support are filed in the docket and become part of the public record. This information is made available to the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA), a division of the Department of Justice, which represents the public interest in cases before the IUC.
The IUC does not respond to or address written comments, but they are reviewed before the IUC makes its decision in the case.
News releases
IUB concludes public evidentiary hearing for proposed Summit Carbon pipeline (November 9, 2023)
IUB approves Summit Carbon's hazardous liquid pipeline application with modifications (June 25, 2024)
IUC issues pipeline permit to Summit Carbon Solutions (August 28, 2024)