Iowans demand more pipeline safety rules
Iowans protested outside the downtown Des Moines Marriott where pipeline leaders are holding a conference. They want a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines until there are more regulations.
Iowans protested outside the downtown Des Moines Marriott where pipeline leaders are holding a conference. They want a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines until there are more regulations.
Iowans protested outside the downtown Des Moines Marriott where pipeline leaders are holding a conference. They want a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines until there are more regulations.
Protesters gathered in downtown Des Moines on Wednesday to demand a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines until more safety regulations are in place.
The group of a few dozen protestors stood outside the downtown Marriott where pipeline leaders are holding a large conference.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, known as PHMSA, also has representatives at the conference. PHMSA is the federal agency responsible for regulating pipelines.
"We came to Des Moines because we wanted to hear from you, where you are impacted," Linda Daugherty, a PHMSA official, told Iowa landowners.
Several dozen Iowa landowners attended the conference and spoke in opposition to three carbon dioxide pipeline projects planned to go through Iowa.
"I want them to wait until they have new regulations in there before they build it," said Kathy Stockdale.
Stockdale owns a farm in Hardin County where two pipelines are planned to go through her property. She wants the pipelines to be put on hold until PHMSA implements stricter safety standards for companies who build the pipelines.
"We do the research. We try to ask questions, but they will not give us direct answers," Stockdale said.
Stockdale told PHMSA officials she is frustrated with the lack of answers provided by Summit Carbon Solutions, one of the companies planning to build a pipeline through Iowa.
"There are people who are in this for money, and they are taking it from us. It's appalling to me. I don't understand how this can be happening," said Patricia Dumolien, who owns a farm in Scott County.
Critics of the carbon dioxide pipelines referenced a pipeline explosion in Mississippi in 2020. More than 40 people were hospitalized after the rupture. Protesters fear a similar CO2 poisoning could happen in Iowa.
"Lots of folks are going to be living in rural communities that have volunteer fire departments that are just not equipped to deal with a rupture when it happens," said Ava Auen-Ryan with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.
PHMSA says that the rupture was caused by land movement due to extremely heavy rain.
"The question is what could the company have done to predict and prevent the land movement. That's what we're focusing on, and I will be honest, this is a new area. We haven't had these kinds of issues that we are aware of, but in the last several years, it's like 'wait a minute.' That's why we issued the advisory bulletin. That's why we have got to get on top of this," Daugherty said.
PHMSA says it could take at least a year to implement new safety regulations for CO2 pipelines.