By Kim Chipman

A proposed $8.9-billion carbon-capture pipeline that has polarized the US Corn Belt has hit another setback in the critical state of South Dakota.

At least 60% of South Dakotans voted to repeal a law critics say was meant to ease approval of the project by Summit Carbon Solutions, according to preliminary results of a statewide ballot done with Tuesday’s election. The project is the last high-profile carbon pipeline proposal still standing after rivals with similar visions went bust amid opposition from landowners in various Midwestern states.

“This is a mandate from the voters that South Dakota is not for sale,” Republican state lawmaker Karla Lems, who voted against the law earlier this year, said in a Wednesday interview. “They understand that our property rights are sacred and the legislature got it wrong. Now we move forward to enact much-needed protections.”

Summit Carbon said it isn’t deterred by the ballot results and plans to reapply for a state permit on Nov. 19.

“Our focus continues to be on working with landowners and ensuring the long-term viability of ethanol and agriculture in the state,” the Iowa-based firm said in a Wednesday statement. “Projects like ours have successfully navigated South Dakota’s existing regulatory landscape in the past.”

The project, whose backers include energy billionaire Harold Hamm, aims to shrink the environmental impacts of ethanol production by capturing emissions from plants in South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. The carbon dioxide would then be stored in North Dakota. Roughly a fifth of a proposed 2,500-mile pipeline would run through South Dakota, according to Summit.

Summit has faced a barrage of setbacks since the project was announced in 2021, with the pipeline delayed by at least two years and estimated costs more than doubling. South Dakota last year rejected Summit Carbon’s plan to capture emissions from corn ethanol production because the planned route violated county ordinances, such as distances between the pipeline and homes.

The law on Tuesday’s ballot has been dubbed a “landowner bill of rights” by backers, who claim it offers valuable protection for residents who end up in negotiations for access to their property. Opponents call it a “pipeline bill of rights,” arguing that the measure allows for easier approval.

The fight to keep the law intact spurred a political campaign that blanketed “Vote Yes” ads across the state, with South Dakota-based Poet LLC — the world’s biggest corn ethanol producer — contributing at least $1 million to the cause, according to filings.

Abolishing the law likely makes it harder for Summit Carbon to get approval, especially after several incumbent state lawmakers who backed the law and pipeline were defeated earlier this year in Republican primaries.

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