(Op-Ed) Jean Kampman: Formal Refusal of Any Further Discussion or Partnership with Summit Carbon Solutions
Jean Kampman is the owner of a Butler County Century Farm and stands firmly against granting a voluntary easement or entering into any further dialogue or partnership with Summit Carbon Solutions.
Letter to: Joe Griffin, CEO
Summit Carbon Solutions
Re: Formal Refusal of Any Further Discussion or Partnership with Summit Carbon Solutions
Mr. Griffin,
Your August 5, 2025, introductory message does not change the reality of what Summit Carbon Solutions is doing — attempting to force a deeply unpopular, dangerous, and unnecessary project onto unwilling landowners for the financial benefit of a private company. If you were serious about doing the right thing, you would start by immediately withdrawing your request for an easement on my property, which I will never grant — not now, not ever.
You speak of “building something meaningful,” but let’s call this what it really is: a land grab, backed by the threat of eminent domain, aimed at securing billions in federal tax subsidies for carbon capture and sequestration — a scheme built to enrich investors, not serve the public. The harm this project is inflicting on Iowans is real, ongoing, and entirely avoidable. Summit continues to put landowners through relentless stress, legal pressure, and the looming threat of property seizure — all for a speculative pipeline with no clear storage destination, no completed route, and minimal voluntary support.
This project clearly lacks legitimate landowner support — if it had any real backing, you wouldn’t be resorting to coercion, manipulation, and backdoor permitting schemes to advance it. You have not been honest with the public, and your PR campaigns won’t hide that fact.
In your second letter to me, dated September 24, 2025, you offered increased compensation to counties and landowners who succeed in persuading others to sign so-called “voluntary” easements. This strategy raises serious ethical concerns. It amounts to incentivizing private individuals to exert undue influence on their neighbors, undermining the principle of free and uncoerced consent. Encouraging landowners to pressure others on your behalf is not only deeply inappropriate — it is a deliberate attempt to manipulate community dynamics for corporate gain. And the fact remains: you are offering landowners a fraction of what Summit stands to earn through the 45Q federal tax credit — a massive public subsidy that will enrich your company while leaving impacted communities to bear the risks.
You claim Summit values integrity, respect, and partnership. But what kind of “partnership” begins with intimidation and legal maneuvering against the very people whose land you seek to use for profit? What kind of “respect” includes pushing forward despite clear opposition from communities across the state, and despite South Dakota passing legislation to ban eminent domain for your project?
Your company was granted a conditional permit in Iowa with clear and specific requirements — including securing route approval in both North Dakota and South Dakota before any construction could begin. You have failed to meet those conditions. Rather than complying with the terms as agreed, you are now attempting to rewrite them after the fact by seeking to amend the permit.
Summit has repeatedly insisted that "you can't change the rules in the middle of the game." Yet that is precisely what you are doing now. You should be held to the very standards you claim to uphold. This is not the behavior of a good-faith partner — it is a calculated attempt to manipulate the regulatory process and bypass accountability.
And while you now claim to be launching a "fresh chapter," let’s not pretend this is a new and improved company. The core mission hasn’t changed. The goal remains the same: profit from public dollars, seize land you don’t own, and push a risky and controversial pipeline through the heart of Iowa. No amount of rebranding or friendly language can hide that fact.
Our family has owned and farmed in Butler County for four generations, and it is an integral part of our heritage. It stands as a testament to the countless hours of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication that have been poured into it — and it exists to benefit future generations of our family, not your private company. Our land is not a commodity for others to exploit; it is the result of generations of commitment and stewardship. You are not entitled to it. You are not welcome on it. And you will never be granted access to it.
You claim that your commitments are more than just words on paper — that they represent a promise to operate safely, transparently, and in a way that delivers meaningful benefits to the communities affected. If Summit is serious about changing its approach, start by respecting landowners’ decisions. Respect my decision. Withdraw your attempt to access my land and remove me from your route — permanently.
Until you do, I will continue to oppose this project at every level, alongside the thousands of Iowans who have made it unmistakably clear: this project is not wanted, and it is not welcome here.
Without Consent and With Resolve,
Jean Kampman
Butler County Century Farm Owner