When it comes to carbon pipelines, the risks are greater than the rewards.
That was the message presented Friday at Divots in Norfolk by a couple of leaders trying to thwart carbon pipelines from being built in Northeast Nebraska — or at least making sure landowners negotiate their best lease with the companies proposing them.
Jane Kleeb, president of BOLD Nebraska, said carbon pipelines are “new, untested and unregulated” in Nebraska.
She said the Norfolk meeting, which was the third of a series of similar meetings Thursday and Friday, was put on by BOLD Nebraska and Nebraska Easement Action Team (NEAT).
Kleeb said the difference between the groups is that BOLD Nebraska is opposed “all the way,” while NEAT has major concerns — especially using eminent domain for private property. But if people are going to sign an easement, NEAT wants to make sure landowners at least sign a lease that represents the best terms possible and that they are fairly compensated, Kleeb said.
Tom Genung, whose home place is northwest of O’Neill, said he began learning about pipelines from attorney Dave Domina when NEAT and BOLD Nebraska opposed the Keystone XL pipeline.
As Genung had more correspondence with Domina, Genung said he learned that the terms in the easements that landowners sign for a pipeline are more important than the compensation they receive.
Other meetings by the group were Thursday in Wayne, Columbus and later Friday in Grand Island.
Heartland Greenway Navigators CO2 is seeking to build a pipeline, including 160 miles in Nebraska across Platte, Boone, Madison, Stanton, Wayne, Dixon and Dakota counties. A series of permanent and temporary easements will be needed for the proposal to take carbon from the Albion ethanol plant and other places to central Illinois for permanent disposal.
In addition, Summit Carbon Solutions of Ames, Iowa, has proposed nearly 315 miles of pipeline in Nebraska to collect carbon dioxide from ethanol plants, including the Louis Dreyfus plant in Norfolk.
In Madison County, the route would come up from Platte County, cross the southeastern part of Madison County diagonally and then go across northwest Stanton County and move diagonally to just east