Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC v. Emmet County

Filing Date: 2023
Case Categories:
Principal Laws:
Inverse Condemnation, Pipeline Safety Act, Tortious Interference, Supremacy Clause, Iowa Constitution, Iowa Hazardous Liquid Pipelines and Storage Facilities Statute
Description: Carbon dioxide pipeline developer's lawsuit challenging county ordinance that regulates pipeline.
  • Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC v. Emmet County
    Docket number(s): 3:23-cv-03013
    Court/Admin Entity: N.D. Iowa
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    04/28/2023 Complaint Download Amended complaint filed.
    04/12/2023 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Lawsuits Challenged County Ordinances Regulating Carbon Dioxide Pipelines. The developer of a proposed interstate pipeline that would transport captured carbon dioxide across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota from emitting facilities to storage filed lawsuits in federal court in Iowa challenging two counties’ zoning ordinances that the developer said unlawfully usurped federal and state regulatory authority. The complaint asserted that both federal and state law preempted the ordinances and sought a declaration that the ordinances had no effect because they were unlawful exercises of power. The developer also asserted claims of inverse condemnation and tortious interference with contractual relationships and prospective business advantages. The developer sought preliminary and permanent injunctive relief enjoining the counties from enforcing or implementing the ordinances, similar ordinances, or any other requirement that would regulate any aspect of the project, including safety, location, or routing.