438: Lawmaker says Summit Carbon pipeline controversy is driving down corn prices

If constructed, the Midwest Carbon Express, a carbon pipeline project pursued by Summit Carbon Solutions, would gather carbon emissions from ethanol plants across the upper midwest and bring it to North Dakota for storage.

Controversy around the pipeline, particularly from some landowners and farmers who say their land will be stolen through eminent domain, or that the pipeline itself is dangerous, has made headlines. But two North Dakota lawmakers with deep ties to agriculture in the state are pushing back.

Sen. Terry Wanzek and Rep. Mike Brandenburg, both Republican members of the North Dakota legislature, recently wrote a letter to the editor arguing that "the future is here, and it demands that we incorporate innovative solutions like carbon capture and storage to ensure the continued prosperity of our leading industries."

Rep. Brandenburg joined this episode of Plain Talk to explain his argument. "It's time we start talking about the positive things with this pipeline," he said.

Brandenburg says 100 miles of Summit's pipeline run through his legislative district, where he also farms. He initially didn't like the way Summit approached landowners. He said they hired contractors who bullied landowners. "We had a meeting with them and told them they have a bunch of crooks out here," Brandenburg said. Summit has since fired those contractors and fixed the problems, he continued.

Meanwhile, he argued, new economic realities are setting in.

Canada, a major importer of American ethanol, has implemented new emissions standards, and without carbon capture, American farmers and ethanol producers will be at a disadvantage. "A year ago this time, corn was $2 higher," he said, attributing to fall to competition from farmers in places like Brazil which he says are ahead of the curb on capturing carbon.

Brandenburg also said that North Dakota farmers are being misled by people such as Darryl Lies, the president of the North Dakota Farm Bureau who uses his Bismarck-based talk radio show to inveigh against carbon capture and Summit's pipeline.

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