Members of the public review maps on display April 22, 2024, that show the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline route ahead of a Public Service Commission meeting in Mandan. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)
(North Dakota Monitor) -North Dakota landowners who feel they were tricked or bullied into signing an easement agreement with Summit Carbon Solutions can appeal to the courts, according to staff for the Public Service Commission.
During a PSC work session Monday on the Summit siting permit, staff discussed the law that says if five or more landowners feel wronged by the negotiating tactics, they can file a complaint in district court.
If the court sides with the landowners, the easement agreements can be thrown out.
During public hearings on Summit’s carbon capture pipeline project, landowners have complained that Summit agents threatened them with court action if they did not voluntarily sign an easement agreement giving Summit the right to put a pipeline through private property.
They also have cited poor communication and sometimes communicating with the wrong family member on easement negotiations.
According to Century Code 49-22.1-14, “If at least five landowners agreed by the conduct of a person or persons acting on behalf of the same utility, acquiring easements for a site a relevant facility, alleged use of harassment, misrepresentation, deception, fraud, or other unfair tactics by the person and persons acquiring or attempting to acquire easement and action may be brought to the appropriate District Court.”
“It covers, it seems like, just about everything we’ve been hearing about all along that is supposedly happening,” PSC Chair Randy Christmann said of landowner complaints about Summit. “There’s a process for it.”
The law adds that if the court rules in favor of the landowners, the PSC may revoke or suspend the route permit affecting the landowners who proved that they were wronged.
Victor Shock, director of public utilities for the commission, noted that the commission doesn’t have jurisdiction over easement negotiations. “But that is something that the court could do,” Shock said.
PSC attorney Zack Pelham said the law has been in place since 2017. He said he was unsure if there had been previous versions of the statute.
Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions has been pursuing a pipeline route permit in North Dakota since 2022. It seeks to capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants in five states and use the pipeline to bring carbon dioxide to North Dakota for underground storage.
But Summit has faced opposition and legal action from some landowners.
The PSC in 2023 denied Summit a route permit but allowed the company to revise its application and go through a second round of public hearings.
Monday’s work session was a chance for the three-person commission to discuss the law covering negotiation tactics and other legal matters related to the pipeline as the PSC weighs a decision on the permit.
The commission directed its staff to ask for more detailed information on Summit’s insurance policies.
Another PSC work session on the pipeline was tentatively set for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 16, in the Brynhild Haugland Room at the Capitol. Christmann said in an interview last week he anticipates multiple work sessions on the project before the PSC will be prepared to vote on the permit.
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