North-central Iowans given chance to weigh in on proposed carbon pipeline today in Mason City, Floyd

MASON CITY — Public meetings are underway in several Iowa cities, the first steps an Iowa-based company must follow as it seeks a state permit to build an underground pipeline for carbon through 30 Iowa counties.

As Radio Iowa reported in late August, the potential pipeline has been dubbed the Midwest Carbon Express by its developer, Summit Carbon Solutions. Jesse Harris, a spokesman for the company, says it would be the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world.

“Our project would connect 31 different ethanol plants across the Midwest, including 12 plants here in Iowa,” Harris says. “We would capture the CO2 emissions before they were emitted into the atmosphere. We would compress those emissions into a pipeline and we would transport it to North Dakota, where it would be permanently stored.”

Harris says ethanol plants that feed into the pipeline would become a so-called “net zero” fuel source by the end of the decade.

“It would allow ethanol plants to be able to sell their product and sell it at a premium in low carbon fuel standard markets like California, Oregon, Washington and more,” Harris says, “and give them a real competitive, economic advantage in the years to come.”

Businessman Bruce Rastetter of Alden, the former president of the Iowa Board of Regents, owns the company that ultimately hopes to get Iowa Utilities Board approval for the project. The pipeline would stretch through more than 700 miles of Iowa.

Two meetings will be held today:

== 1:30 PM — North Iowa Area Community College Beem Center, 500 College Drive, Mason City

== 6:00 PM — Floyd Community Center in Floyd, 706 Franklin Street

A meeting will also be held in Garner on Tuesday, September 28th at 1:00 PM at the Viaduct Center at 255 US Highway 69 South