Bill to ban private eminent domain use dies in Iowa Senate

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - A bill that would have banned private use of eminent domain has died in an Iowa Senate committee.

That decision is paramount for a pair of pipeline projects planned to cross northwest Iowa if they’re built.

The bill, introduced by Republican State Sen. Jeff Taylor, of Sioux Center, failed to gain support among fellow Republicans on the committee. In a statement, Taylor said the bill’s defeat is “sad for landowner protections and constitutional rights.”

Summit Carbon Solutions, a company seeking a permit to use eminent domain to build a carbon pipeline across northwest Iowa, said in a statement that the company is rooted in agriculture and is working with landowners on voluntary easements.

The bill would’ve prevented the pipeline from being built. The pipeline will now proceed through a separate process governed by the Iowa Utilities Board