WOODBINE, Iowa (KMTV) — Some Iowa Families want the Iowa Utilities Board to say 'no' to carbon capture pipelines. Sherri Webb and her siblings have farmland in Shelby County, inherited from their grandmother, and she's worried about the environmental impacts on the land.
Webb sat down to talk about her concerns it at the Woodbine Public Library, in neighboring Harrison County.
- "Women did not get land way back when ... I just always felt like it validated her as a person, if nothing else," said Webb.
- Pipeline supporters say carbon capture is the best way to meet environmental standards for products such ethanol-based aviation fuel.
- For Webb, though, it's personal: "And they're going to come up here, not caring about Iowa land. And do what they want."
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Some Iowa Families want the Iowa Utilities Board to say 'no' to carbon capture pipelines. I'm your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
I sat down with Sherri Webb, who's worried that Summit wants to build a carbon pipeline through her family's Shelby County property.
"That's our land (pulls out a jar with soil in it) ... so I don't forget how important this is."
Webb always keeps a jar of soil with her. It's from the 40 acres she and her siblings inherited near Shelby; part of a larger family farm that was passed down to Webb's grandmother.
"Women did not get land way back when ... I just always felt like it validated her as a person, if nothing else," said Webb.
That property is included in a proposed carbon pipeline route through Shelby County. Webb is concerned that pipeline construction will disrupt the conservation work they've done. Also, pipeline safety: it carries liquified CO2, a byproduct of ethanol production.
The CO2 would be piped to North Dakota and buried underground.
"What I'm actually praying for and literally put into my grandmother's and God's hands is no permit because this is dangerous," Webb said.
Webb cites an Iowa State University study that showed a reduction in crop yields after construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.
Pipeline supporters say carbon capture is the best way to meet environmental standards for products such ethanol-based aviation fuel. Harrison County farmer, Larry Buss is on the the Iowa Corn Growers board.
"... There's also another thing about what is the overall good for the corn industry and for the farming industry and we believe that sequestering the carbon is the way we need to go to increase the profitability," Buss said.
During a recent visit to Harlan, Sen. Chuck Grassley said Iowa's ag products are needed to produce enough sustainable aviation fuel.
"And so, they would write a formula that would leave corn and soybeans out of it and then you aren't going to have enough fuel," said Grassley.
For Webb, though, it's personal: "And they're going to come up here, not caring about Iowa land. And do what they want."
The Iowa Utilities Board has another public hearing on the pipeline Tuesday morning, in person, and on Zoom.
