An analysis released by the Sierra Club and landowners opposed to Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon pipeline concludes that the project would require withdrawing well over three billion gallons of water from Iowa’s aquifers each year.
Jess Mazour, environmental coordinator for the Sierra Club in Iowa, says ethanol plants already use large amounts of water and the pipeline would put an even greater strain on Iowa’s water supply.
The Iowa DNR has already granted Summit a permit to take up to 55 million gallons of water annually from a new well near Homeland Energy Solutions’ ethanol plant between New Hampton and Lawler. Sierra Club attorney Wally Taylor says the DNR has been handing out water use permits like candy, without considering the impact on groundwater resources.
Federal reports say ethanol production requires 10 to 17 liters of water. At each ethanol site, even more water would be needed to cool the carbon so it can be compressed, liquefied and pumped through a pipeline.
Summit’s pipeline would capture carbon from 30 ethanol plants in Midwest Iowa, including Valero Renewables near Charles City, Absolute Energy near St. Ansgar, Golden Grain Energy near Mason City and Poet Bioprocessing near Shell Rock.
Last week, the Charles City Council approved a new agreement with Valero that will increase the company’s water use from 420 million gallons to 470 million gallons. The company says the increased water use will coincide with an increase in its annual ethanol production.
