(Radio Iowa) – The Mitchell County Board of Supervisors has sent a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board, objecting to the use of eminent domain for the proposed Summit Carbon Pipeline that would pass through their county. The letter says the board believes each landowner should have “the right to decide if they want to have carbon pipelines on their property.”

Lisa Ritzert of San Antonio, Texas, owns land in Mitchell County and she urged the county’s board of supervisors to “fill the gap” after efforts to regulate the pipeline failed in the state legislature. “If carbon dioxide pipelines are to pass through Mitchell County soil; across streams and farms; right up next to Mitchell County homes, families and children and siphon public water supplies, residents deserve the very best community and natural resource protections,” she said during the supervisors’ May 21 meeting.

Deb Freeman is among Mitchell County residents who object to the pipeline. “Today my home is threatened, positioned nearly 600 feet from the proposed pipeline route,” Freeman told supervisors during their meeting last week. “The preservation of our land, groundwater and homes is of paramount importance to me…It is not just about the environment, but also about the safety and the wellbeing of our families, neighbors and children living along the proposed pipeline route.”

Supervisor Jim Wherry of Osage said the corn industry in Mitchell County supports the pipeline.

“I hear the negative side to this as far as not wanting it the most and that’s OK if people don’t want something, but there are other people that do want this,” Wherry said. “…If somebody wants this on their property…they should be able to do that. Property rights for ‘I want it’ and property rights for ‘I don’t want it.’”

Wherry said state law prohibits county officials from having any say about the pipeline project and all authority rests with the Iowa Utilities Board. State regulators have not indicated when they’ll make a decision on Summit’s construction permit and whether they’ll grant pipeline developers authority to seize land from unwilling property owners.

Pipeline opponents say 45 counties have registered some level of objection to Summit’s project.