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Secret maps and toxic plumes dominate third day of pipeline testimony

Secret maps and toxic plumes dominate third day of pipeline testimony

Jul 27, 2023 | Actions

FORT PIERRE – The “sensitive sites” potentially impacted by a carbon capture pipeline will remain confidential, for now. Meanwhile, modeling used to assess the impacts of a leak or rupture came under scrutiny Thursday during the third day of a permit hearing before state regulators at the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center.

Stephen Lee is the executive vice president of engineering and construction for Navigator CO2, the company proposing the Heartland Greenway pipeline. Lee introduced maps marked as confidential for their focus on vital infrastructure. One “map overlay” includes the environmentally sensitive areas – including wetlands and waterways – that could be impacted during pipeline construction or in the case of an accident, Lee said.

Lee said the maps should remain confidential because they could be dangerous “in the hands of the wrong individuals” like “terrorists.”

More hearing coverage

Brian Jorde, an attorney representing landowners, failed to convince the three elected members of the Public Utilities Commission to make the map overlay public.

“I don’t think this is the time or place to solve that specific issue,” Commissioner Chris Nelson said, adding that there’s too little time to debate the issue during the permit hearing.

Jorde was not satisfied.

Piping up on the dangers of CO2 pipelines and carbon capture

Piping up on the dangers of CO2 pipelines and carbon capture

Jul 27, 2023 | Actions

The Sun-Times’ Editorial Board’s warning that “Transporting carbon dioxide to Illinois must be done safely” cannot come soon enough. Corporations like Navigator CO2 stand to make billions of dollars off these dangerous pipelines, thanks to generous tax credits in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. Wasting no time, a trio of pipeline profiteers are rushing to ram thousands of miles of CO2 pipelines from Illinois to North Dakota before adequate rules to guarantee safety can be finalized.

It’s far too dangerous to build this cart as we ride it. A single incident could unzip a CO2 pipeline for miles, leaving mass asphyxiation and trapped emergency vehicles in its wake. If industry has its way, networks like those proposed for the Midwest will be only the beginning, and millions of people will be put at risk.