Corporate donors back RL 21, county commissioner expects close vote

Corporate donors in support of South Dakota’s ballot issue Referred Law 21 (RL 21) have given at least $2.2 million for the “vote yes” campaign.

Voters have the chance to weigh in on Referred Law 21, which was narrowly approved by the South Dakota legislature during session as Senate Bill 201. After the legislature approved the bill, opponents organized a referendum effort, gaining enough signatures to place the issue on the ballot.

POET was the biggest single contributor, giving $1 million to the campaign. POET is “the world’s largest producer of biofuel and a global leader in sustainable bioproducts” according to its website.

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Other large contributors are local ethanol plants including Watertown’s Glacial Lakes Energy, who gave $400,000; Redfield Energy at $250,000; GEVO (a Colorado-based company with a Lake Preston, South Dakota site dedicated to a sustainable aviation fuel plant) at $200,000, Ringneck Energy at $200,000, and two more ethanol plants donating less.

While RL 21 is billed by proponents as a “Landowner Bill of Rights,” the donors are all outspoken advocates of the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions carbon sequestration pipeline that, if built, would transport liquefied carbon dioxide from ethanol plants across the Midwest and deposit it underground in a Beulah, North Dakota shale formation.

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The South Dakota CornGrowers is one organization who supports RL 21. Their executive director

DaNita Murray said her group wants to clarify that, while it supports the ballot initiative, it doesn’t back the idea of a pipeline company utilizing eminent domain.

Her organization is hoping that, by depositing the c02 underground, the carbon pipeline will improve the potential markets for a more “green” ethanol product, which would hopefully increase demand for local corn.

“We support domestic production,” she said. “South Dakota’s corn producers are concerned as we look to 2025 and the fundamentals of what might be coming down the pike and affecting corn prices,” she said.

“We’ve got super high input prices for our producers, and not great prices,” she said.

“We believe low carbon score fuel will be produced, and if it’s going to be produced, we think South Dakota needs to be a part of that conversation,” she said.

The South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance, which has campaigned for a “no” vote on RL 21, said its financial support has come in the form of “$10 and $20” donations from individuals, adding that a pie auction in the Aberdeen area brought in $10,000.

Drew Dennert, a Brown County South Dakota, commissioner, urges a “no” vote on RL 21. “The biggest thing to me is keeping local control local,” he said.

The law, if enacted, would give the state Public Utilities Commission the ability to overrule county setback rules, such as Brown County’s 1,500 foot setback for carbon pipelines.

“The system we have is working,” He said. “It’s a lot easier for people to bring their issues to the county commission rather than the PUC.”

“Even if the PUC upholds the county’s rules, this gives Summit the avenue to file in circuit court,” he said.

Dennert said his county’s 1,500 foot setback rule doesn’t prevent the pipeline from reaching the local ethanol plant, but he said the area around the ethanol plant is “pretty populated” and the pipeline company would have to negotiate individual agreements with landowners willing to approve the pipeline being built closer than 1,500 feet from their homes.

“They can still bring the pipeline in, if the landowners agree to it,” he said.

“Whether you are farmer, rancher, landowner or just a citizen of South Dakota, I do think it’s important to show up and vote ‘no’ on RL 21. This is an important issue and there is a lot of misinformation from the proponent side. They are telling a ton of half truths at best and lies at worst. I think this will come down to a small margin…it’s going to be close,” he said.