In addition to Griffin’s replacement of former CEO Lee Blank, the letter notes Summit has a “new senior leadership team” that is focused on “partnership and respect.”
AMES, IA – Summit Carbon Solutions has a new CEO, Joe Griffin, who authored letters to signed and unsigned Iowa landowners along the carbon pipeline project route.
Two versions of the letter, one dated Aug. 4 and the other dated Aug. 5, noted the company would be announcing “several updates” that would “open new markets and create greater opportunities for the region.” The letters also note Summit has a new senior leadership team.
The version addressed to landowners along the route who have not signed an easement agreement said they should expect a “revised Right of Way proposal in the coming weeks.”
The letter said the revised proposals would reflect Summit’s “commitment to offering terms that better support landowners and their long-term interests.”
The other version was addressed to landowners who had already signed easements and instead thanked them for their trust in the company. Its proposed carbon sequestration pipeline in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas would carry carbon dioxide captured from dozens of ethanol plants to an underground sequestration site in North Dakota.
In South Dakota, the project has been rejected twice for a permit by the state’s Public Utilities Commission, and the Legislature and governor passed a law earlier this year banning the use of eminent domain to obtain land access for carbon pipelines. The new law was a response to activism by pipeline opponents concerned about property rights and potentially deadly leaks of carbon dioxide plumes.
Summit has already signed easement agreements with thousands of landowners along the route, according to the company.
Griffin wrote in the letter he wanted to “set the tone” for a “fresh chapter” for Summit.
In addition to Griffin’s replacement of former CEO Lee Blank, the letter notes Summit has a “new senior leadership team” that is focused on “partnership and respect.”
“This team has constructed and/or operated more than 4,700 miles of pipelines, but what I’m most proud of is that we did it safely, working closely with landowners, communities, and emergency responders to ensure the safety of all,” Griffin said.
Griffin said he has spent his career in “energy infrastructure” though it is unclear what company the new CEO was with formerly.
“I’m the kind of person who’s not afraid to get out in the fields and help alongside the farmers, someone who understands that this project is about more than pipes and technology — it’s about people, land, and communities,” Griffin wrote in the letters.
Former Summit CEO Lee Blank could not be reached for comment.