Gage Co. Supervisors Hear CO2 Pipeline Presentation

Gage County Supervisors heard a presentation about a carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline that will soon go into operation on Wednesday, October 1. Tallgrass Energy announced that the $1.2 billion CO2 pipeline will connect 10 ethanol plants in Nebraska and one in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with a deep, underground storage area in eastern Wyoming. The Trailblazer pipeline system will transport CO2 from agricultural and industrial facilities in Iowa and Nebraska to be sequestered underground in Wyoming.Representatives from Tallgrass Energy highlighted a number of points about the project, including safety measures, including first responder training and community benefits. The project is expected to create 710 temporary jobs and, according to Tallgrass, generate significant economic benefits for Gage County and the state.The company will also be providing funding for community investments, as per an agreement with the clean energy advocacy group, Bold Nebraska.At one time, Bold Nebraska and founder Jane Kleeb, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, had expressed grave concerns about the safety and environmental impact of CO2 pipelines. Kleeb and Bold Nebraska had previously been staunch opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.Bold Nebraska and Tallgrass Energy reached a “Community Benefits Agreement,” (CBA) that was signed in April of 2024. As part of the agreement, Tallgrass has selected Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF) to manage the “Trailblazer Community Investment Fund,” (Fund) a community initiative stemming from Tallgrass’ Trailblazer Carbon Dioxide project – a project that supports the region’s biofuel producers by enabling the production of low-carbon, high-value biofuels and feedstocks.The fund will be seeded with an initial investment of $500,000 and supplemented annually through 2035 with an investment equal to $.10 per metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is transported and stored on the Trailblazer pipeline system. This initial investment is being provided six months ahead of schedule and the fund is anticipated to distribute more than $7 million in the communities associated with the project’s right-of-way in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Iowa throughout the next decade.Grant-eligible government entities and nonprofit organizations must serve communities located along the Trailblazer pipeline system.Qualifying organizations have already been identified and will be invited by Nebraska Community Foundation to apply for funding, which will be distributed annually. After significant research into rural communities’ most pressing needs, NCF recommended that the Fund support: Quality early childhood development centers, Food pantries, and Long-term care facilities for elders.“The issues the fund targets are among the most challenging our rural hometowns are facing,” said Jeff Yost, president and CEO of Nebraska Community Foundation. “Most importantly, these dollars are being invested in organizations that already have a deep understanding of their communities and the people they serve.”Nebraska counties to benefit from the Trailblazer Community Investment Fund include Adams, Banner, Buffalo, Butler, Cass, Clay, Dawson, Fillmore, Frontier, Gage, Gosper, Hall, Hamilton, Johnson, Kearney, Kimball, Lincoln, Merrick, Otoe, Perkins, Phelps, Platte, Polk, Saline, Sarpy and York. Colorado counties are Logan and Sedgwick.Iowa counties are Mills and Pottawattamie.Laramie County in Wyoming is also among the fund’s beneficiaries.

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