Navigator withdraws Illinois carbon pipeline application but plans to refile

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Navigator CO2 Ventures has withdrawn its carbon capture pipeline application in Illinois, but intends to refile.

The pipeline system, called the Heartland Greenway, would connect ethanol plants in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota, including the plants operated by POET, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

In a document filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission on Jan. 20, Navigator said it intends to refile in February with “an additional lateral pipeline to additional sequestration location(s).”

Navigator intends to store some of the liquid carbon dioxide underground in Illinois while some of it is intended for industrial use.

"With the increasing number of shippers participating in the Heartland Greenway and landowners' collaborative and responsive feedback, refiling allows us to streamline the application process in Illinois for all parties," Navigator CEO Matt Vining said in a news release.

Navigator had filed its application in July 2022. In its filing with Illinois Commerce Commission, it said commission staff advised that the application be withdrawn.

Carbon capture pipelines have been controversial in the Midwest, with some farmers, landowners and environmental groups banding together in opposition, with concerns about the use of eminent domain to obtain right-of-way, safety and property values. The Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines is an Illinois group working against the project.

More pipeline news:

1. End of the line for pipeline bills in South Dakota Legislature as two proposals die in Senate committee
2. Navigator jumps ahead of Summit in South Dakota carbon capture
3. Green Plains looks at the future of adding value to corn through more than ethanol
4. Navigator carbon capture pipeline project files for permit in South Dakota
5. South Dakota farmers don't see Summit carbon dioxide pipeline as a public utility worthy of eminent domain

“Navigator’s initial petition to the ICC was not just incomplete, it was nonsensical,” said Pam Richart, co-founder of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines and co-Director of the Eco-Justice Collaborative, in a statement. “Without acquiring a sequestration site, there was no way to analyze the proposed route of the pipeline and its potential impact on farmers, landowners, and public safety.”

Navigator was recently put on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission schedule for permit hearings in June, putting it ahead of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which will have its case heard in September.

The Summit pipeline would take liquid carbon dioxide to western North Dakota for underground storage.

The two carbon capture projects aim to benefit ethanol plants and corn growers by allowing the plants to sell fuel in markets with a clean fuel standard, such as California. The projects also seek to cash in on tax credit for carbon capture.