(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday (today), held a public hearing on the First Reading of a Proposed Ordinance regulating the placement of hazardous liquid pipelines on property located in the unincorporated areas of Adair County. The question was raised during the hearing, if having an Ordinance would prevent pipelines, especially the proposed Carbon Dioxide transport pipeline, from happening in Adair County. Board Chair Matt Wedemeyer said the Board can’t prevent it, especially if officials with Navigator CO2 Ventures, which has proposed the project, decides to execute the process of Eminent Domain.

Board member Jodie Hoadley said having an Ordinance regulating where the pipeline is allowed to go, is the best protection the County has right now.

Craig Schoenfeld of CR3 Connect, a Clive-based lobby firm that represents Navigator, says there’s been no discussion about running a pipeline through Adair County, and if that were to be the case, they want it to be a collaborative effort.

He said if the project does go forward, they are years away from any sort of development with regard to construction. A map provided to the Des Moines Register, however, indicated the pipeline would be fully operational by 2025, and shows the route would traverse Adair County. Schoenfeld said that’s only a prospective route, not a precise route. Supervisor John Twombly preferred to move forward with the Ordinance.

The Board approved a motion to waive the second and third readings, and passed Resolution #39 approved on the final reading. Board Chair Matt Wedemeyer.

In September, the Adair County Board of Supervisors sent the Iowa Utilities Board a letter, saying the board is not opposed to the purpose or construction of the pipeline, but is opposed to eminent domain being used “as a way of achieving it.” As mentioned, none of the three proposed pipeline routes run through Adair County, but there are nearby ethanol plants in Menlo and Corning. If those facilities are connected to a carbon capture pipeline in the future, the route would likely pass through Adair County. Navigator’s petition, filed with the Iowa Utilities Board, calls for a $3.2 billion underground hazardous liquid pipeline across 33 counties in Iowa, including Story and Polk, to capture carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol and other industrial agriculture plants in Iowa.

In other business, the Board received an update from Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg, with regard to TIF Values.

Berg informed the Board also, that they have not yet received a quote on the Eagle Migration Software, but they hope to have all the related information for the Board’s meeting, next week.