The Iowa Utilities Commission is keeping two pending cases involving Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon dioxide pipeline separate, setting up hearings on the project’s next phase early next year.
The commission denied Summit’s request to consolidate outstanding regulatory cases, but established hearing dates for two proposed pipeline segments in Ida and Floyd counties.
The Ida County hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2027, followed by the Floyd County hearing on March 23, 2027. Both hearings will take place in Des Moines.
Summit had asked the commission to schedule hearings in mid-December, arguing that delays in the regulatory process were hurting the project and the people who could benefit from it. The company said the pipeline could help ethanol producers reach low-carbon fuel markets and argued that farmers and landowners also need a timely opportunity to have their concerns heard.
The two cases involve segments that are each less than five miles long. They are part of the project’s second phase, which would add pipeline connections, known as laterals, to reach additional biorefineries. The commission has not decided whether other pending cases involving Phase 2 could be consolidated in the future.
The decision comes as Summit continues to face opposition from landowners and legal challenges surrounding its broader pipeline proposal.
The commission approved a permit in 2024 for Summit’s original plan to build about 688 miles of pipeline across Iowa. The permit included conditions the company must satisfy before construction can begin. Landowners, the Sierra Club’s Iowa chapter and several counties challenged the permit, arguing that Summit should not qualify as a common carrier entitled to use eminent domain to obtain land for the project.
The legal dispute has continued as Summit has sought changes to its original plans. In 2025, the company requested changes related to its proposed route and carbon storage destination. It later proposed directing the project west toward Wyoming and said it was considering enhanced oil recovery, a process in which carbon dioxide is injected underground to help bring oil to the surface.
Summit’s changing plans have added uncertainty to the project, while opponents have questioned whether regulators should proceed with additional pipeline cases before the broader legal issues are resolved.
Landowners also raised concerns about who will be allowed to participate in the upcoming hearings. Some said they were denied requests to intervene because they do not own property in the counties where the specific pipeline segments are proposed, even though they believe the project could affect them.
The latest commission decision does not resolve the broader dispute over Summit’s pipeline plans or determine whether the proposed Phase 2 segments will ultimately be approved. The Ida and Floyd County hearings are the next scheduled steps in the regulatory review.
