A federal appeals court Thursday upheld lower court decisions barring counties from imposing safety standards on a pipeline subject to federal safety standards.

The cases involved Summit Carbon Solutions, the company proposing to build a carbon sequestration pipeline through Iowa, and county supervisors from both Story and Shelby Counties.

Summit has also sued Bremer County over attempts to regulate the company’s planned carbon dioxide pipeline. Worth County supervisors also have approved a similar ordinance.

Summit sued the counties in 2022 for enacting ordinances that required county-specific setback requirements and other regulations the company argued were preempted by federal pipeline safety laws.

A federal judge ruled in favor of Summit in December 2023 and issued permanent i

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