Liberty Rising: The Plan to End Property May 10th 4pm

Carbon Pipeline

🕵️ Deep Dive: Summit Carbon Pipeline, Lobbying, Corruption, and Liberty in South Dakota

🏛️ SEAL SD Exposes the Clash of Interests

At SealSD.com, we’re celebrating the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) denial of Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline permit on April 22, 2025, a victory for property rights and liberty (Page 44: Celebrating Victory: Summit Carbon Pipeline Permit Denied in South Dakota). The Core GRT Plan—part of the Maximum Liberty Plan (Plan 2)—replaces all state taxes with a single 5% Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), generating $3.6 billion and saving you $3,000–$5,000 annually by eliminating property taxes, aligning with South Dakota’s liberty-focused values. However, the Summit pipeline project, backed by powerful interests, raises concerns about lobbying influence and potential corruption, seeming like a “lobbyist wet dream” that clashes with the state’s commitment to freedom. This page examines Summit’s project, its reliance on eminent domain, the lobbying dynamics and possible corruption behind it, and how South Dakota’s rejection reflects its dedication to liberty, drawing on recent developments and our prior discussions on property rights and election integrity (Page 43: Deep Dive: The Founding Fathers on Property Rights, Freedom, and Eminent Domain; Page 35: Election Integrity and the Core GRT Plan).

🏭 Summit’s Pipeline: A Corporate Overreach

Summit Carbon Solutions’ $8.9 billion carbon capture pipeline aimed to transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants across five states to underground storage in North Dakota, but its reliance on eminent domain to seize private land sparked fierce opposition in South Dakota (Web ID: 0, Web ID: 1, Web ID: 2):

  • Project Overview: The pipeline, spanning 2,000 miles, would capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants, a key industry in the Midwest, to support “net-zero” emissions goals. Summit claimed it would create jobs and boost the ethanol market, but critics argued it prioritized corporate profits over landowners’ rights (Web ID: 0, Web ID: 2).
  • Eminent Domain Abuse: Summit filed over 80 eminent domain lawsuits against South Dakota landowners in 2023, often targeting family farms held for generations, to survey and access land against owners’ wishes (Post ID: 1). This mirrors historical abuses the Founding Fathers opposed, as eminent domain for private gain undermines property rights—a cornerstone of liberty (Page 43: Deep Dive: The Founding Fathers on Property Rights, Freedom, and Eminent Domain).
  • South Dakota’s Response: On April 22, 2025, the PUC denied Summit’s permit with a 2-1 vote, citing an “incomplete” application and directing Summit to rework its route to satisfy landowners (Web ID: 0). This followed South Dakota’s 2025 law banning eminent domain for such projects, signed by Governor Larry Rhoden in March 2025, reflecting the state’s commitment to protecting property rights (Post ID: 4, Web ID: 13).

Analogy for Clarity: Summit wanted to run a picnic pipe through your picnic tent, using picnic eminent domain to take your land for their picnic profits—but South Dakota said “No way!” to protect your picnic tent, keeping the picnic free and fair!

💸 A Lobbyist Wet Dream: Corporate Influence and Dark Money

The Summit pipeline project appears to be a “lobbyist wet dream,” backed by powerful corporate interests and potentially fueled by dark money, raising concerns about corruption that conflict with South Dakota’s liberty-focused values:

  • Corporate Backing: Summit Carbon Solutions, a private company, is supported by major ethanol producers and investors who stand to profit from carbon capture credits and an expanded ethanol market (Web ID: 0). Posts on X suggest Summit’s influence extends to out-of-state companies, with some users claiming South Dakota officials have been swayed by “what amounts to bribes for policy” (Post ID: 2). While these claims are inconclusive, they highlight public suspicion of corporate influence.
  • Lobbying Dynamics: Summit’s persistence—despite earlier permit denials in 2023 and 2025—suggests significant lobbying efforts (Post ID: 1, Web ID: 0). The company has engaged in extensive legal battles, filing over 80 eminent domain lawsuits, indicating a well-funded operation likely backed by lobbying groups pushing “net-zero” agendas, often tied to broader green energy initiatives (Post ID: 0, Web ID: 2). This mirrors the dark money tactics we’ve discussed, where power brokers use untraceable funds to manipulate policy (Page 36: The Disinformation Machine).
  • Potential Corruption: The scale of Summit’s project, combined with its reliance on eminent domain, raises red flags about potential corruption. Posts on X allege that some South Dakota officials may have “sold out” citizens’ private land to out-of-state companies, though these claims lack verifiable evidence (Post ID: 2). Nationally, carbon capture projects have been criticized as “boondoggles” benefiting corporate interests over public good, a sentiment echoed in South Dakota (Post ID: 5). This suggests Summit’s influence may involve backroom deals, a hallmark of corruption that undermines liberty.

Analogy for Clarity: Summit is like a sneaky picnic planner with picnic lobbyist friends—they use picnic money and tricks to grab your picnic tent for their picnic pipe, which smells like a picnic scam, not a picnic for freedom!

🗽 Liberty in South Dakota: A Clash of Values

South Dakota’s rejection of Summit’s pipeline reflects its commitment to liberty, particularly the protection of property rights, which contrasts sharply with the corporate overreach Summit represents:

  • Property Rights as Liberty: South Dakotans, inspired by the Founders’ belief that “property must be secured, or liberty cannot exist” (John Adams, 1787), have long valued property rights as a cornerstone of freedom (Page 43: Deep Dive: The Founding Fathers on Property Rights, Freedom, and Eminent Domain). The state’s 2025 eminent domain ban for carbon pipelines, signed into law by Governor Rhoden, ensures landowners aren’t forced to surrender their property, a direct rejection of Summit’s tactics (Post ID: 4, Web ID: 13).
  • Core GRT Plan Alignment: The Core GRT Plan aligns with this liberty-focused ethos by eliminating property taxes, saving $1.6 billion state-wide and removing a financial burden that threatens property rights (Page 10: How It Affects the Average Homeowner). This mirrors South Dakota’s resistance to Summit, as both efforts prioritize individual freedom over corporate or government control, honoring the Founders’ vision of secure property as essential to liberty (April 2, 2025, 16:49).
  • Conflict with Corporate Interests: Summit’s project, backed by ethanol producers and green energy advocates, reflects a corporate agenda that clashes with South Dakota’s values. The state’s history of rejecting overreach—seen in earlier permit denials in 2023 and 2025—shows a commitment to protecting citizens from external control, a principle the Core GRT Plan upholds by reducing government overreach through taxation (Post ID: 1, Web ID: 0, Page 42: Deep Dive: Property Rights and the Core GRT Plan).

Analogy for Clarity: South Dakota loves picnic freedom—your picnic tent stays yours, thanks to our picnic eminent domain ban and the Core GRT Plan clearing $1.6 billion in picnic fees—but Summit’s picnic pipe wants to take over, which doesn’t fit our picnic liberty party!

🛡️ Fighting Corruption: Transparency and Secure Elections

To combat the potential corruption behind projects like Summit’s pipeline, South Dakota must prioritize transparency and secure elections, ensuring liberty-focused policies like the Core GRT Plan prevail:

  • Transparency Through SD-DOGE: SD-DOGE, the South Dakota Department of Government Efficiency, can expose dark money and lobbying influence behind projects like Summit’s pipeline through transparent reporting, as we’ve proposed for other opposition campaigns (Page 36: The Disinformation Machine). By tracking funding sources, SD-DOGE ensures South Dakotans know who’s trying to control their land and policies (Page 31: Deep Dive: SD-DOGE Membership and Governance).
  • Secure Elections for Liberty: The Core GRT Plan’s 2026 ballot initiative, requiring 35,017 signatures by May 5, 2026, must be protected from similar corporate interference (Page 14: Constitutional Amendment). A blockchain voting system could ensure secure, transparent elections, preventing fraud and restoring public confidence in government, as we’ve explored (Page 40: Deep Dive: Blockchain Voting Systems for Secure Elections). This is critical to ensuring South Dakotans’ voices aren’t drowned out by lobbying influence (Page 35: Election Integrity and the Core GRT Plan).
  • Public Awareness: Educating South Dakotans about the Founders’ vision of property rights and liberty, as we’ve advocated, can build resistance to corporate overreach (Page 43: Deep Dive: The Founding Fathers on Property Rights, Freedom, and Eminent Domain). This awareness ensures citizens support liberty-focused initiatives like the Core GRT Plan, rejecting projects that prioritize corporate gain over individual rights.

Analogy for Clarity: SD-DOGE is our picnic watchdog, shining a picnic light on sneaky picnic money, while a blockchain picnic vote box keeps our picnic vote fair, and teaching picnic friends about picnic freedom stops picnic planners from taking over our picnic!

💡 Why It Matters: Liberty Over Corruption

The Summit Carbon pipeline project, with its reliance on eminent domain and potential ties to lobbying and corruption, represents a “lobbyist wet dream” that clashes with South Dakota’s liberty-focused values, where property rights and individual freedom are paramount. The state’s rejection of Summit’s permit on April 22, 2025, reflects its commitment to the Founders’ vision that “there can be no liberty” without secure property, a principle the Core GRT Plan upholds by eliminating property taxes and saving $1.6 billion state-wide (Page 43: Deep Dive: The Founding Fathers on Property Rights, Freedom, and Eminent Domain). By using SD-DOGE to expose lobbying influence, securing elections with systems like blockchain voting, and educating citizens on their rights, South Dakota can continue to resist corporate overreach and corruption, ensuring liberty prevails (Page 40: Deep Dive: Blockchain Voting Systems for Secure Elections). This victory is a step toward a South Dakota where your property rights and financial freedom are protected, free from the control of power brokers who prioritize profit over liberty.

Analogy for Clarity: Summit’s picnic pipe was a lobbyist picnic party, but South Dakota kicked them out to keep picnic tents free—SD-DOGE, secure picnic votes, and picnic lessons on freedom ensure picnic planners can’t ruin our picnic liberty with their picnic tricks!

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