Summit Carbon Solutions, LLC v. Shelby County

The court ruled that Iowa state law and the federal Pipeline Safety Act preempted provisions of a Shelby County ordinance that imposed requirements on hazardous liquid pipelines.

On July 21, 2023, the County filed a motion to certify the state preemption questions to the Iowa Supreme Court for a definitive ruling. The County also requested a temporary stay pending resolution of the certification motion.

The federal district court for the Southern District of Iowa granted a motion for a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of an ordinance passed by the Shelby County Board of Supervisors to regulate hazardous liquid pipelines, including pipelines to transport captured carbon dioxide. The court concluded that a company that was developing a network of pipelines to transport carbon dioxide had standing but dismissed for lack of standing an individual plaintiff who resided and possessed land in another county and would not be subject to the ordinance’s permit regime or fees. The court found that the company was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims that state and federal law preempted provisions of the ordinance, that the company’s contention that it would experience unrecoverable costs established irreparable injury, and that the company would suffer more harm than the County defendants if a preliminary injunction were not granted.