Republican lawmakers rip eminent domain proposal

New legislation that attempts to delay the threat of eminent domain for 10 months for landowners unwilling to allow liquid carbon pipelines on their properties does little to help their overall struggle, two Republican state lawmakers said. They said the political clout and wealth of at least one of the pipelines’ backers — Bruce Rastetter, whose Summit Carbon Solutions has filed the first of three anticipated pipeline permit applications with the Iowa Utilities Board — are why the Republican-controlled Legislature is unlikely to give meaningful relief to those landowners.