“South Dakota Easement Team” Backed By Sierra Club Attorneys
The so-called “South Dakota Easement Team” (S.D.E.T.) is being advised by out-of-state Sierra Club attorneys.
While S.D.E.T. bills itself as “a grassroots organization established for the benefit of landowners affected by proposed Carbon Pipelines in South Dakota,” it is working shoulder-to-shoulder with out-of-state Sierra Club attorneys to kill the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world.
The Sierra Club is hostile to the ethanol industry. The group “opposes further deployment of corn-based ethanol” and laments that Americans may be “stuck with corn ethanol forever.”
Out-of-state attorneys working with S.D.E.T. include:
Omaha attorney Brian Jorde “is working with the Sierra Club” in opposition to the proposed state-of-the-art carbon capture pipeline, according to a media report. Jorde and the Sierra Club’s Jessica Mazour “co-host weekly Zoom strategy sessions for landowners who oppose the pipeline. They’ve also filed legal documents with the Iowa Utilities Board accusing pipeline developers of not following the letters of the law.”
Minneapolis attorney Paul Blackburn “has represented the Sierra Club and residents in opposition to the Keystone XL and other pipelines,” according to another media report.
Unfortunately for Jorde and Blackburn, South Dakota farmers, ethanol producers, and small businesses won’t be fooled by their work on behalf of S.D.E.T.