28-mile carbon dioxide pipeline approved by Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a proposed carbon capture and storage pipeline project on Thursday.

The $8 billion Otter Tail to Wilkin Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Project from Iowa-based company Summit Carbon Solutions is a proposed 28-mile, 4.5-inch diameter carbon steel pipeline designed to transport carbon dioxide from the Green Plains Ethanol Plant near Fergus Falls to the North Dakota border south of Breckenridge, Minn.

Officials say that from there, the carbon dioxide will be sequestered underground in North Dakota using Class VI injection wells.

Approval is contingent on the pipeline not only receiving the necessary permits but also beginning construction in other states along the proposed route before construction starts in Minnesota.

The PUC identified the following permit conditions:

• Provide CO2 monitors for homes within 1,000 feet of the project if a landowner requests it.
• Provide funding for training and equipment to first responders.
• Require the permit holder to have general liability insurance.
• Require the Department of Commerce to review the pipeline’s decommissioning costs, type of financial security instrument, terms and conditions for the security instrument and insurance requirements.
• Obtain voluntary landowner agreements along the entire route before the start of construction and compensate landowner for damage to crops and reduction in yields.

“The Commission appreciates the robust stakeholder and landowner participation in this project,” said PUC Commissioner John Tuma. “To protect landowners, the company may not begin construction in Minnesota until it provides documentation that it has started construction in North Dakota.”