South Dakota’s landowners are celebrating today, as the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Tuesday handed them a major victory over the Net Zero agenda.
The PUC rejected a second attempt by Summit Carbon Solutions to obtain a permit for its planned carbon capture pipeline. Commissioners also denied Summit’s request for an extension of the hearing process.
Summit’s application was “incomplete” and lacked the “form and content required” to be “ready for the permitting process,” said Commissioner Kristie Fiegen.
“We really don’t know the route. We don’t know the timeframes. We don’t know their plan. We don’t know their construction timeframes or costs,” she noted. “The application is not ready to go forward. Summit needs to reapply.”
Fiegen was one of two commissioners who cast a “no” vote; Gary Hanson was the other. Part of their reasoning was a recently-passed state law restricting eminent domain use to obtain the necessary land easements.
Commissioner Chris Nelson disagreed with his colleagues and encouraged Summit to reapply after charting a reduced route. The three members of the commission are popularly elected.
The decision came on Earth Day, 2025. The John Birch Society’s Michael Boyle was present for the hearing and captured it on video (see above). Later the same day, JBS premiered it’s documentary, UNearthing the CO2 Pipeline, which tells the plight of landowners on Summit’s route and the land-grabbing agenda behind projects like this pipeline.
The rejection could have implications in Iowa, which is also in Summit’s path. Commissioners in the Hawkeye State are appointed by the state governor and have approved Summit’s application on the condition that the other states involved do likewise. They are Nebraska, North Dakota and Minnesota.
South Dakota’s rejection throws a wrench in Summit’s plans for a 2,100 mile pipeline, the “Midwest Carbon Express.” Company officials plan to refile an application for a shorter route in South Dakota.
