Day two of Navigator CO2 pipeline hearing held in Fort Pierre

July 27, 2023

FORT PIERRE, S.D. – Wednesday was the second day of testimony for the Navigator CO2 pipeline application in South Dakota.

Members of the Public Utilities Commission asked tough questions regarding safety and regulations. Some commissioners voiced concerns about approving the pipeline before new safety regulations are announced next year that could allow Navigator’s operations to be grandfathered in.

The PUC also voiced concern over Navigator not releasing the diameters of the pipeline route or their computer-generated “rupture dispersion model.”

“So I think it relates to the fact that those plans are governed, their preparations are governed by PHESMA, and that PHESMA has personnel dedicated to the review and inspection of and providing comments on those plans,” said Mark Hereth, a consultant for Navigator.

According to Navigator, thirty percent of South Dakota landowners who are on the path of the pipeline have signed easements for the project. Of the seventy percent of landowners who have not signed, a portion have reported receiving eminent domain letters. Testimony continues on Thursday.