By Dave Baumeister
County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Minnehaha County Commission agreed to apply for party status in the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission hearings on the latest incarnation of the Summit Carbon Solution’s CO2 pipeline.
At the previous county meeting on Jan. 21, commissioners discussed why they weren’t going to apply for party status, saying they were following the same plan as they did when the Navigator pipeline unsuccessfully challenged the county’s pipeline ordinance established in 2023.
At that meeting, Commissioner Joe Kippley said that by not having party status, the county would save money by not hiring an attorney until, if, and when their ordinance might be challenged by Summit.
However, since that meeting, the county learned that Summit may try to “pre-empt” the county’s ordinance at the PUC level, making it more urgent for Minnehaha County to take action now.
Even though the deadline passed as of Friday, Jan. 24, Deputy State’s Attorney Eric Bogue said that from e-mails he had, he believed the PUC would still accept Minnehaha County’s application a few days late.
All five commissioners voted to go ahead and apply for party status.
In addition, HB 1052, which just passed the State House of Representatives 49 to 19, and now moves on to the State Senate, would also add strength to the position of those against the pipeline.
That bill would prohibit “the exercise of eminent domain for any carbon oxide pipeline.”
The next meeting of the commission will be Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the third-floor meeting room of the Minnehaha County Administration building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
