This weekend, news broke that former Governor Terry Branstad had issued letters on behalf of Summit Carbon Solutions to landowners impacted by the controversial carbon pipeline project proposed for the Midwest. Proposed to cover hundreds of miles across Iowa, Summit’s pipeline is a disaster in the making, posing serious threats to communities, land and climate.

The misleading letter from the pipeline developer warns landowners against community and environmental groups opposed to the destructive pipeline, saying that such groups “are not your friends” and could be “making wild claims about the pipeline and encouraging you to oppose it.” News of these misleading letters comes on the heels of the state refusal to make public the names of landowners impacted by the dangerous pipeline proposal, hampering the efforts of environmental and community groups to conduct outreach on the project.

In response, Food & Water Watch Senior Organizer Emma Schmit issued the following statement:

“Carbon capture and storage is an unproven and unsound false climate solution. A distraction from the real work of reforming our agricultural and energy sectors to combat the looming climate emergency, carbon capture stands to make corporate cronies like Rastetter and Branstad very rich, while regular Iowans bear the brunt of the project’s many risks.

Carbon pipeline developers are using landowner names to specifically organize a misinformation campaign, while weaponizing the Iowa Utilities Board to prohibit community groups from conducting public education — it’s unjust. Iowans have the right to understand the many threats carbon capture and storage pose to our communities, land and climate.”

Contact: Phoebe Galt, [email protected]