(ABC 6 News) – The Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) is holding meetings this week in North Iowa for the purpose of hearing public comments and concerns of landowners affected by a potential carbon capture pipeline project.

The $5 billion project is an investment, according to Summit, to “drastically reduce the carbon footprint of ethanol production and enhance the long-term viability of the ethanol industry.”

It would take CO2 emissions from ethanol plants, liquefy them under extreme pressure, and pipe them to an underground sequestration site in North Dakota.

Portions of the pipeline have been already approved, but public informational meetings must be conducted before Summit is given the go-ahead for construction, something many landowners (and now some lawmakers) are fighting. 

A lawsuit filed Wednesday is just the latest legal battle for Summit. Thirty-seven Republican lawmakers are claiming the planned pipeline project isn’t in the public interest, and oppose the companies attempts to seek eminent domain. 

“We dispute whether that is authority for them to use for eminent domain,” said State Rep. Charley Thompson, among the lawmakers bringing suit against Summit and the IUC to block approval of the pipeline. 

More informational meetings are scheduled for next week, a link to the IUC’s public calendar can be found here.