A group of 40 Republican legislators in Iowa is leading a legal challenge to the state’s approval of what would be the nation’s largest carbon dioxide pipeline system.
The lawmakers and several other parties filed lawsuits Wednesday in state and federal courts in Iowa against the Iowa Utilities Commission and developer Summit Carbon Solutions claiming regulators failed to provide opponents due process or give adequate weight to harms associated with the project.
“The order contains findings that, when analyzed in light of the full evidence before the commission, are in error; and its substantive legal conclusions are contrary to binding precedent, statutes, and Constitutional principles,” the lawsuits said.
The legislators announced the lawsuits in a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Charles City, Iowa, a city along the pipeline route. They said the commission’s decision prioritizes Summit Carbon’s interests in tax credits over the safety, property rights and well-being of Iowa’s citizens.
