Public Utilities Commission meetings continue to frame what carbon pipelines could look like in South Dakota.
In a recent commission meeting, PUC staff offered a motion that would ‘shake up’ the commission’s agenda.
Commission meetings are quasi-judicial in nature and operate within agenda parameters.
PUC staff submitted a motion to secure dates and times for traveling witnesses to testify in Navigator CO2’s application to construct the Heartland Greenway.
Kristen Edwards is a staff attorney for the PUC. She presented the PUC staff’s reasoning for the motion.
“For out-of-state consultant witnesses that we need to get plane tickets for and make travel arrangements, to stay within the budget they will not be in town for the entirety of the hearing," said Edwards. "Instead, they will be listening online and we will bring them in, hopefully around the time they are to testify.”
The motion would disrupt the order of witness testimony.
There was no opposition testimony given by either Navigator CO2 or the appointed intervener.
Commissioner Chris Nelson thanked all the parties involved for their willingness to cooperate with each other.
“I guess I appreciate both the other parties willingness to be flexible on this. And as I said, I think its really hard to tell how this thing is going to unfold so we are all going to have to be just a little flexible with each other, thank you," said Nelson.
The commission voted unanimously to approve PUC staff’s motion.
