Summit Carbon Solutions, aiming to build a carbon sequestration pipeline across several Midwestern states, suffered a significant legal setback when a North Dakota district court ruled that a 2009 state law compelling landowners to participate in carbon deposition projects is unconstitutional. The law allowed the state to enforce “amalgamation,” requiring landowners to submit to carbon sequestration sites if 60% of affected landowners agreed, with compensation overseen by the state Industrial Commission. However, the court found this violated constitutional rights guaranteeing landowners a jury trial to determine compensation and payment before property is taken, invalidating Summit’s permits for carbon storage on private land near Beulah, North Dakota.

This ruling, supported by similar decisions in previous cases, threatens the viability of sequestration sites established under the amalgamation law and complicates Summit’s broader project, which involves capturing carbon dioxide from ethanol plants and transporting it for underground storage. While the project could enhance ethanol’s market value by branding it as greener and benefits from tax credits, regulatory hurdles remain, including permit dependencies across states and South Dakota’s protective laws against eminent domain for carbon pipelines. Landowners like Kurt Swenson, who graze cattle on the affected lands, have actively opposed forced participation, highlighting tensions between property rights and carbon capture initiatives.