North Dakota native Justin Buckingham had dreams of building a life on his own property with his wife and family. This all changed once Summit Carbon Solutions sent a representative to their property.
“We purchased our property about three years ago. We're going on our third to fourth year,” Justin said. “No sign of any pipeline coming through or anything, so we thought it was going to be a wonderful property to buy and purchase in Burleigh County here to set up a little farm operation.”
Justin said he first heard about it from a “Summit stakeholder” named Dave Nearing.
“We didn't know who he was, but he came over as my neighbor,” Justin said. “And he wanted to talk to me as my neighbor, so I let him come into my house. And when he entered the door, as I closed the door, he said, ‘By the way, I'm with Summit Carbon Solutions and we're here to put a CO2 line through your yard.’”
Justin said he was taken back at the manipulative behavior of Nehring and the conversation escalated quick.
“I just looked at him, and it was a heated debate,” Justin said. “Not would we like to discuss, or would we like to visit with you about, nope, it was just we're (Summit) going to do this.”
Justin said Nehring even brought up eminent domain as a means to their end too.
“The eminent domain was brought up immediately,” Justin said. “We're taking their land one way or the other.”
According to multiple sources, Nearing is a former North Dakota State Representative as well.
When asked when former state representative and current Summit employee disclosed that fact, Justin said it was in front of his children.
“He didn’t disclose it right away, in fact he waited until after I closed the door when he entered my house with my children,” Justin said.
He continued saying that Carbon and CSUS is not new to him. In fact, Justin has a background in the industry.
"I knew what CO2 was, I worked for Chevron with CO2 injection for a little bit down in Rangeley, Colorado,” Justin said. “So I understood what CO2 was. I'm also a consultant, former consultant in oil and gas and directional driller at the highest levels there. So I have a full understanding of this."
Originally from Watford City, Justin moved back to North Dakota to seek a life of liberty, freedom and property right, unfortunately he has found out the state of North Dakota no longer supports these values and rights.
“I'm originally from Watford City in the oil where the oil country is and born in Williston,” Justin said. “So I knew firsthand what all this is about.”
Justin then began listing examples of unprofessionalism from behavior to clerical to legal.
“Our address was wrong. Our names were misspelled. I mean, it was just immediate that it was kind of thrown together,"Justin said. “And I said, well, this isn't even signable. And so I trespassed some of it and Dave Nearing for my property for one year verbally, it's the lowest form of trespass without calling the sheriff.”
He continued recapping the confrontation from Nearing and Summit while standing on his personal property.
“I said, just leave us alone, we want nothing to do with the Summit period.” Justin said. “We have different intentions on this property, we are building a shop and just getting our ranching operations going.”
When asked whether Nearing deescalated the situation or ramped it up, Justin said he definitely ramped it up.
“Yes, I felt actually threatened and insulted by their tactics. We dealt with oil and gas tactics before in Watford City,” Justin said. “Landmen that were local, they're friendly, they come to your door, very honest, straight to the point, and we work together. The tactics that Summit uses are almost as if they're terrorists.”
Yet it’s the state of North Dakota endorsing and funding marketing firms and lobbyists who are publicly calling North Dakota landowners “Jihadi Terrorists” and “Eco Terrorists”.
In 2023, a ND state representative penned an Op/Ed explaining the abusive behavior from Ron Ness, Scott Hennen, Lynn Helms and other appointed leaders.
Recent columns from Scott Hennen, Ron Ness (Petroleum Council), and Peter Edis (McKenzie County Healthcare Systems, Inc.) represent what appears to be a coordinated effort to discredit a Fargo Forum story highlighting real health impacts of the oil and gas industry in North Dakota. The article featured a quote from me regarding a doctor’s diagnosis of Bakken Cough that both my husband and I received approximately 8 years ago.
Hundreds of studies show increases in respiratory illnesses among those living and working ear oil and gas wells. Though Bakken Cough is not an officially recognized diagnosis, it’s what the doctor at McKenzie Health System called our illness after learning that we lived next to a flare. Our doctor said they had seen other people working and living near flares with similar respiratory symptoms.
It’s alarming that a hospital administrator would question a patient in public – especially as this administrator wasn’t working for McKenzie Health, wasn’t in the exam room when I was diagnosed and knows nothing about my health. Unfortunately, I must consider that there may be a connection between the $1.5 million donated to Edis’s facility from members of the North Dakota Petroleum Council and his participation in this clumsy attempt to discredit me.
What is not surprising is Scott Hennen resorting to name-calling, labeling me an “eco-terrorist.” In reality, I have never said I am against the oil industry. I have said I am for appropriately regulating the industry to reduce any harmful environmental impacts.
Click here for entire Op/Ed from Lisa Finley-DeVille
He continued explaining his horrific experience with Summit Carbon Solutions and former state representative Nearing
“They just come, they're taking your land, and we don't care about you as a person, and that is their tactic,” Justin said. “They threatened us, but with this CO2 line, we have four children that attend the school where the line is running through. It's about a mile away. And so we were very concerned with our children even having a lion like that in our yard. But where we're at now, it's just unreal.”
Summit proposes to transport CO2 emissions captured from ethanol plants in five states for “permanent storage” in an underground rock formation in North Dakota. In addition to needing approval for the pipeline, the company needs permits from the North Dakota Industrial Commission for three underground storage facilities in Oliver and Mercer counties.
Furthermore, Summit’s Midwest Carbon Express pipeline, if completed, will have the capacity to transport 18.5 million metric tons of CO2 annually and receive billions of direct cash subsidies in the process.
The “unethical and ruthless treatment” from the state of North Dakota, subcontractors and Summit Carbon Solutions has made Justin and his family reconsider living in North Dakota and pursuing his family’s American dream.
In fact, he is now putting construction plans on his private property on hold due to all this abusive behavior in fear they will force him to tear his shop down due to the carbon pipeline route, which is “less than 500 feet from his house where his children sleep”.
“Because if you're in the way, you're not part of the game and they're going to try to get rid of you,” Justin said. “ Who represents the taxpayers? Who represents the voters? Who represents the landowners? Well, sure the hell isn't the elected officials in North Dakota at this time.”
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Landowner Details Summit Carbon Solutions' State-Sponsored "Abusive Treatment"