Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC v. Story County

On the same day that Navigator CO2 <a href="https://navigatorco2.com/press-releases/heartland-greenway-project-update">announced</a> that it had decided to cancel its carbon dioxide pipeline project (known as the Heartland Greenway project), the company joined in filing stipulations of dismissal without prejudice of its lawsuits challenging Iowa county laws that would have regulated the pipeline. The company cited “the unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa,” as the reason for the cancellation.

A developer of an interstate carbon dioxide pipeline (the Heartland Greenway Pipeline System) and related facilities filed a lawsuit in federal court in Iowa challenging a May 2023 ordinance passed by Story County, Iowa, that imposes setback requirements limiting the pipeline’s route. The ordinance also imposes other requirements, including specific methods of construction, submission of an emergency response plan, and a discretionary permit requirement. The developer asserted that federal and state law preempted the County’s ordinance and that the ordinance violated the developer’s rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and the Iowa Constitution. The complaint cited the court’s July 2023 <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/couser-v-shelby-county/">decision</a> granting a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a similar ordinance in another Iowa county.