The Kiowa County Press has published new coverage of North Dakota landowners’ opposition of the Midwest Carbon Express pipeline and the continued efforts of Domina Law Group Managing Lawyer Brian Jorde to help landowners band together and fight back.
As reported by the Kiowa County Press, North Dakota landowners with property along the pipeline route proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions are awaiting an upcoming meeting of the Dakota Resource Council. The meeting is intended to help landowners learn about Summit’s latest efforts to secure land for its multi-state, multi-billion-dollar carbon capture pipeline and their rights as property owners.
The Resource Council Meeting, which will be held Tuesday evening, follows Summit’s recent submission of paperwork to pursue eminent domain if it can’t get enough landowners to sign voluntary easements. As in other states, many landowners in North Dakota oppose the prospect of allowing Summit, a private company backed by various foreign and domestic investors, to secure land through eminent domain, a right typically reserved for the government and public use projects.
The Dakota Resource Council meeting takes place this evening in Bismarck at the Veterans Memorial Library at 6pm. The meeting will be available via Zoom for those who cannot attend in person.
In addition to holding this evening’s meeting, the Resource Council is also encouraging concerned property owners to sign up with the North Dakota Easement Team, a grassroots group that’s fighting Summit’s efforts via legal challenges and landowner education.
Attorney Brian Jorde, who is part of the legal team helping landowners in all states affected by the proposed pipeline, noted how working collaboratively as a group is much more powerful than having individual landowners take their own action – especially when facing off against a corporation with as much money on the line as Summit.
As Jorde told the Kiowa County Press:
"You can be as noisy as you want on your own and good luck to you. But unless you're part of a larger group, you can't hope to even make a dent or resist these billion-dollar-backed entities."
You can read the full Kiowa County Press article featuring quotes from Brian Jorde here.