Northwest Landowners Association v. State

A North Dakota District Court held that a North Dakota law regarding underground carbon dioxide storage provided for a physical taking of property constituting a taking without providing for just compensation. The law provided that if a carbon storage operator did not obtain consent of all persons who own a storage reservoir’s pore space, the North Dakota Industrial Commission could require that the nonconsenting owners be included in a storage facility, with title to the storage facility and the stored carbon transferring to the State upon completion of a carbon capture project. Although the North Dakota law provided for “compensation” to the nonconsenting owners, the court found that it “clearly does not provide ‘just compensation’ as defined in North Dakota.”