Opponents of U.S. carbon pipeline draw lessons from prior pipeline fights

Landowners hoping to block proposed carbon pipeline projects in the U.S. Midwest are getting help from some of America's most prominent anti-pipeline campaigners, including groups that fought the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines.

Environmental non-profit Sierra Club and progressive group Bold Alliance are working alongside local organizations to aid property owners across five Midwest states, and are applying lessons learned in their past campaigns, they told Reuters.

Their involvement suggests a big battle lies ahead for the Summit Carbon Solutions' Midwest Carbon Express pipeline and two other proposed projects intended to carry carbon dioxide thousands of miles from ethanol plants to underground storage sites, as those companies attempt to convince landowners to voluntarily give them easements for their routes.

While the new projects will not carry oil, the anti-pipeline groups argue that they pose environmental risks because captured carbon can be used to extend the life of oil fields, and long-term underground storage of carbon is unproven.

Many of the landowners, meanwhile, oppose the projects for reasons ranging from concerns about damage to their farmland during construction to the potential for pipe leaks that could pose a health threat.

Summit said it has secured 48% of the easements needed to run what would be the world's largest carbon capture pipeline nearly 2,000 miles (3,220 km) across Iowa and four other states. But to begin construction on time in 2023, it may need to seize some of the rest through eminent domain law - the power of the government to take private property for public use.