Navigator carbon capture pipeline project files for permit in South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D. — Navigator CO2 Ventures has filed for a permit in South Dakota for its carbon capture project involving ethanol plants in five state, including plants operated by POET.

Navigator had previously filed for a permit in Iowa. Other states on the route are Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois, with a site in Illinois designated for storing the liquid carbon dioxide.

Public hearings on the project in South Dakota have been set for 5:30 p.m. Nov. 21 in Canton; 11:30 a.m. Nov. 22 in Flandreau; and 5:30 p.m. Nov. 22 in Sioux Falls.

Navigator made its filing with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on Sept. 27 and will be on PUC agenda for its Oct. 11meeting.

The South Dakota portion of the project is 111.9 miles of carbon dioxide pipeline crossing the counties of Brookings, Moody, Minnehaha, Lincoln and Turner.

Navigator is developing the Heartland Greenway to provide ethanol producers and other industries a way to reduce their carbon footprint, taking advantage of federal tax credits that encourage carbon capture.

It is one of two carbon capture projects involving the ethanol industry in South Dakota, the other being the Summit Carbon Solutions project.

The projects are being met with some resistance from landowners and environmental groups, such as South Dakota-based Dakota Rural Action.

Chase Jensen of Dakota Rural Action said one of the ways Navigator differs from Summit is that Navigator is "explicit about the fact that this is not a sequestration-only pipeline." Some of the carbon dioxide could go to industrial uses, which could include enhanced oil recovery.

With the filing, Jensen said Navigator also has sent notification letters to landowners in the path of the route that it intends to survey their property within 30 days.

Landowners refusing access to survey crews has been the subject of lawsuits and countersuits in the Summit project.

Jensen said the letter is "very intimidating."

Navigator could not be reached for comment.

POET, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, announced in June that the project would include 18 of its bioprocessing facilities. POET is the world's largest producer of biofuels.

The June announcement said the project is on schedule to be operating in 2025. It is designed to deliver up to 15 million tons of carbon dioxide annually to multiple storage sites.

Valero and BlackRock Global Energy and Power are other key partners in the Navigator project.

In Minnesota, the pipeline will go through Martin County on the state’s southern border, connecting the Valero ethanol plant in the town of Welcome.