State group wants funds for soil study on pipelines

LEE COUNTY - The Iowa State Association of Counties has asked Lee County to contribute to a study that would look at moisture content in soil around pipeline construction.

At a workshop following Monday's regular meeting of the Lee County Board of Supervisors, vice-chairman Garry Seyb said ISAC wants an agreement to help look at soil compaction for pipeline  constructions.

"We all voted earlier in the year to have that added to the pipeline construction process," Seyb said.

 "There is now a standard put into the requirements for pipelines and our inspectors to be able to look at things. This study will be the catalyst to determine what that number is."

Seyb said the study will determine when construction has to stop on pipelines based on the moisture content of the soil.

The analysis will be done by the State of Iowa and the cost of the project is $51,098. There are currently plans for three companies to build carbon sequestration pipelines across 70 counties in the state.

ISAC is looking for just $600 from each county, but the study could help reduce damage to property from construction equipment when the soil has too much moisture in it.

One of the carbon pipelines being proposed is the Navigator Heartland-Greenway, which will run from the northwest corner of the county to Montrose, where it will cross the Mississippi River.

The project is experiencing heavy opposition, including pending lawsuits, over the safety of the pipeline to nearby property owners and residents in the vicinity.

"Again, more than 44 counties have said they don't want this pipeline. I don't know of any that have come out and shouted to the high heavens they want this," Seyb said.

"I don't know of any that have said that, but many have said they don't want it."

Seyb said the county has voted to oppose the pipeline, but the counties are relying on legislators to stand against the pipeline and any eminent domain efforts.

"I would encourage everyone to keep pressure on your legislators that we don't want it. Bottom line and period, on this CO2 pipeline," he said.

"But right now (counties) aren't wanting to take it up legally."

Supervisor Ron Fedler said there were issues years after Dakota Access Pipeline was installed with settling due to poor soil compaction.

"The trench that was dug was settling because the soil that they refilled into the trench wasn't compacted very well so mother nature compacted it," Fedler said.

"Then you got trench going through and you've got vehicles in these fields and all of sudden you got this big dip where Dakota Access went through."

Supervisor Chuck Holmes said he spoke with a geology professor at the University of Iowa that said there are locations in Iowa with the same deep wells where carbon can be sequestered, but wouldn't know where those are unless they studied, which would carry costs and time.

"He said it's really not necessary to pipe CO2 over to Illinois, that there are places here in Iowa that would work, but they were never approached to survey which locations would be appropriate," Holmes said.