Submit a comment nowCarbon pipelines are risky, unproven, unregulated, and trample on the property rights of Nebraskans.

Our state needs to understand the risks of carbon pipelines, and we must have some regulatory framework for siting and decommissioning — a law that establishes a fund and makes companies remove the pipe equipment and restore the land after the life of the project.

Nebraskans also need to be aware of their legal rights, before granting permanent easements on their land to out-of-state corporations.

There are two carbon pipeline-related bills under consideration now by the Nebraska Unicameral this session that need your ACTION:

SUPPORT LB 1186: A common-sense bill intended to protect Nebraska landowners and taxpayers so that we are never left held holding the bag cleaning up a corporation’s potential mess.

  • Makes the Oil Pipeline Reclamation Act applicable to other kinds of hazardous liquid pipelines, including carbon pipelines.
  • Provides for reclamation of land after the end of a pipeline’s operations.
  • Provides for a reclamation fund to pay for the potential removal of equipment and restoration of lands.
  • Submit a comment to SUPPORT Sen. Bostar’s LB 1186.

OPPOSE LB 801: This bill would grant state tax incentives to carbon pipelines.

  • This is contrary to the intent of the ImagiNE act, which is intended to attract businesses and create jobs in the state — not to pump up the profits of corporations that are already planning to locate their businesses here.
  • In this case, the pipeline companies have already signed contractual agreements with ethanol plants, and also already have access to billions of dollars in federal tax incentives.
  • Submit a comment to OPPOSE LB 801.

TESTIFY IN PERSON: It’s especially powerful for your Senators to hear directly from affected landowners and concerned citizens. If you’re available, and feel comfortable attending the legislative committee hearing on LB 1186, join Jane Kleeb and other representatives from Bold who will be showing up in Lincoln to support Senator Bostar’s bill at the hearing next Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 1:30 p.m.

  • WHAT: Testify to support LB 1186, to reform the Oil Pipeline Reclamation Act.
  • WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1:30 p.m.
  • WHERE: Natural Resources Committee, Room 1525
    Nebraska State Capitol, 1445 K St, Lincoln, NE 68508

Background on these risky proposed carbon pipeline project proposals, for use in writing your comments to the Nebraska Legislature:

  • Risky: CO2 is both an asphyxiant (it can kill you) and an intoxicant (it can make you unable to function). It is colorless and odorless, which means that a person dealing with a CO2 leak could be rendered unconscious or killed by a CO2 leak without warning.
  • Unproven: Unlike other kinds of pipelines, there is relatively little experience in dealing with carbon pipelines.
  • Unregulated: There are no standards for carbon pipelines in Nebraska. Pipeline companies could run pipelines through residential neighborhoods or next to schools, churches or nursing homes without having to obtain any kind of siting or routing permit. There are also no standards for environmental review, which could lead to contamination of vital resources in the construction process. The Nebraska Public Service Commission, as of this moment, only deals with oil pipelines, leaving the state and landowners vulnerable.
  • Protection of legal and property rights: Pipeline developers have been sending letters threatening to use eminent domain against landowners who do not want a pipeline on their land, despite serious issues about whether they have such authority.
  • For a deeper dive: “Top 8 Reasons to Oppose Risky Carbon Pipelines“

Thanks for taking action to make your voice heard.