(Radio Iowa) – Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh offered a pipeline-related plan in January that did not come up for a vote during this year’s legislative session. He plans to offer it again next year. “It didn’t just deal with Summit Carbon Solutions…It dealt with all the linear infrastructure being built in the state,” Klimesh said. “…We want to make sure we have good policies in place so the next pipeline that’s built — maybe it’s an oil pipeline, maybe it’s a natural gas pipeline, so the next company that’s looking to build infrastructure in the state can follow those same guidelines.”
The main part of Klimesh’s bill would widen the corridors for pipelines by five miles — on either side of the proposed route. Klimesh says that would give developers the flexibility to adjust the pipeline’s path and avoid landowners who refuse to grant a voluntary easement on their property. It also prohibits pipeline representatives from making in-person contact with a landowner who’s said they don’t want the pipeline on their property.
“Those things are all important,” Klimesh said. “In the future they’re important so, yeah, I intend to continue to try to move that piece of policy because from our perspective, it’s important to try provide those safeguards to property owners.” A dozen Senate Republicans joined with Democrats a year ago to pass a bill that would have set some new guardrails for the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, but Governor Reynolds vetoed the bill. Klimesh says he and the leader of those 12 Republicans had conversations throughout the 2026 session about coming up with some sort of compromise.
“The primary ideological difference is Senator Alons still had no eminent domain for CO2 pipelines, which was dealing in absolutes,” Klimesh said, “where my approach my was widen that corridor, give voluntary easements an opportunity to play out.” Klimesh says he believes his approach would have gotten Summit to the point of having well over 90 percent of its route secured through voluntary agreements and Klimesh notes the House passed a bill three years ago that would have set 90 percent as the threshold Summit had to reach through voluntary easements.
Klimesh made his comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.
