Updated July 16, 2026
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).
The IUC's electronic filing system (EFS) now requires users to create an account (316.21 KB) .pdf to access documents, including the links below.
Applications
Summit Carbon Solutions (Summit Carbon) and an affiliated company, SCS Carbon Transport LLC (SCS), proposed to construct hazardous liquid pipeline projects across Iowa and filed applications in 16 dockets:
- Docket No. HLP-2021-0001 - Summit Carbon filed a petition (application) in January 2022 to construct, maintain, and operate 688 miles 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. The IUC approved a permit in June 2024, with stipulations. (More information below.) In June 2026, the company filed revisions to its petition to amend the existing permit that proposes an altered route removing eight counties (Shelby, Pottawattamie, Montgomery, Adams, Page, Fremont, Mitchell and Worth) from the proposed project.
Docket No. HLP-2023-0004 - Summit Carbon filed a petition on October 29, 2024, for a 31-mile segment of 6-inch diameter pipeline in Floyd and Mitchell counties and indicated the proposed pipeline would connect to the Midwest Carbon Express. The company filed a withdrawal of its permit petition in this docket in June 2026.
Docket Nos. HLP-2024-0001 through HLP-2024-0014 - From October 2024 through February 2025, SCS filed its permit applications for a carbon capture and sequestration project spanning 23 counties with approximately 340 miles of 6- and 8-inch diameter CO2 pipeline. SCS proposed 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. In June 2026, the company filed a withdrawal of Docket Nos. HLP-2024-0004, HLP-2024-0006, HLP-2024-0007, and HLP-2024-0009.
For all above proposed projects, county-specific maps are on file in the respective dockets.
Exhibit H (eminent domain)
In June 2025, SCS filed a notice of completion on filing Exhibit H's regarding affected landowners. Summit Carbon stated it would begin to file withdrawals of Exhibit H's as the company obtains voluntary easements.
The IUC continues to review these and other documents filed in the docket for compliance with the IUC's rules.
Docket No. HLP-2021-0001 activity
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 in Docket No. HLP-2021-0001 to construct the 688-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 can begin construction.
Between September 10 and 13, 2024, several parties sought judicial review of the IUC’s permit decision in Polk County District Court.
On September 15, 2025, Summit Carbon filed a Petition for Amendment in the docket.
On September 19, 2025, Summit Carbon filed a motion for remand in district court to have the docket sent back to the IUC in order to allow the IUC to consider the impacts, if any, the passage of South Dakota House Bill 1052 have on the IUC’s Final Decision and Order.
In December 2025 and January 2026, the district court issued orders ruling there was good reason for remand as it relates to the passage of the South Dakota law.
On June 30, 2026, the IUC issued an order regarding the remand, which modified the condition that Summit Carbon obtain agency-level approval from North Dakota and South Dakota for a pipeline route and from North Dakota for sequestration prior to beginning construction in Iowa. The IUC modified the condition to require Summit Carbon to demonstrate to the IUC that it had agency-level, or substantially similar, approval for a sequestration location, as well as agency level or substantially similar approval for a route to the sequestration location.
After the issuance of the IUC’s order, the docket was returned to Polk County District Court where several parties have requested a stay of all IUC action within Docket No. HLP-2021-0001. No ruling has yet been made on this request.
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 [email protected].
- 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.
Note: Any information submitted is subject to the Iowa Open Records Act and will be available for public viewing and inspection.
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)