A Letter from Joe Griffin, CEO
Hi There, and I hope you’re doing well,
This month, our team spent long days on the road across Iowa, meeting with landowners, community leaders, legislative officials and partners. I feel the conversations were honest, humbling and ultimately very constructive. I’m incredibly appreciative to the people who invested the time to meet with our team – early mornings, late nights and everything in-between – to ask very direct questions and share what was on their mind.
Across the state, the people that attended our meetings were clear about what matters most in our approach, especially when it comes to safety, easements, transparency and long-term accountability. Because of that feedback, we have the following important updates to share below.
We’re in the initial phase of a partnership with the Iowa Emergency Management Association (IEMA) on creating a statewide CO2 emergency preparedness program that covers an Emergency Response Plan, Emergency Response Training, Equipment, Immediate Notification Protocols, Damage Prevention, Grants/Funding and Enhanced Public Awareness of Dispersion Analysis. As this effort moves forward, a task force of representatives from across Iowa will participate in shaping the framework to ensure the program reflects Iowa’s real community needs. The result will be clear, consistent best practices that can then be tailored into more detailed, county-specific guidance. We’re grateful for the expertise that IEMA and county emergency managers will bring to this work and look forward to continuing this collaboration.
We’ve also made a decision to improve our easement agreement by adding the following important updates:
Insurance and Indemnification: Summit Carbon Solutions will take responsibility for any accidental damage to the pipeline.
Added Protection for Landowners: Every signed landowner and its tenants will be added directly to our insurance policy, providing an added layer of assurance and clarity.
All new agreements will include these updates, and we will go back and bring all existing easements up to this standard over time. These changes reflect direct feedback from Iowa landowners — and they underscore our commitment to building long-term, respectful partnerships along the route.
Again, thank you to everyone who met with us. Your feedback has and will continue to drive real changes. This is an important moment for Iowa’s future, and there is a lot of work to be done. I will continue to provide updates, and our team looks forward to continuing this progress together.
