Cases / Pipeline · United States · 2026
North Dakota judge cancels Summit Carbon Solutions storage permit
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A North Dakota judge cancelled Summit Carbon Solutions' storage permit for its CO2 pipeline, and Iowa farmers call the pipeline a pipeline to nowhere. The sources reviewed do not say what the cancellation means for the route or for nature.
What?
A North Dakota judge cancelled Summit Carbon Solutions' storage permit for its CO2 pipeline, according to Inside Climate News. Inside Climate News
Where?
Iowa (route, and criticism from farmers) and North Dakota (storage permit). Inside Climate News
When?
Reported in September 2026; the date of the cancellation is not given. Inside Climate News
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
A CO2 pipeline built to carry carbon for storage; enhanced oil recovery is now among the destinations Summit is seeking. Inside Climate News
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
Inside Climate News reported in September 2026 that a North Dakota judge cancelled Summit Carbon Solutions' storage permit.
Farmers in Iowa, quoted in the same report, describe the pipeline as a pipeline to nowhere.
Summit is now seeking new destinations for its CO2, including enhanced oil recovery, according to the same report.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Summit pipeline costs about $9 billion.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: South Dakota banned the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines in 2025, which cut the pipeline's route.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: 45Q tax credits cover most of the pipeline's capital cost, and former Iowa governor Branstad is a senior adviser to the company.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the company's principal gave $423,200 to Branstad and Reynolds over 13 years.
- None on record Not stated: the date of the North Dakota ruling and whether it is under appeal.
- None on record Not stated: any environmental effects of the pipeline; the sources reviewed describe none.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Inside Climate News report on the future of Summit's Iowa pipelineInside Climate News · 2026-09-14