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AG SEC'Y VILSACK WON'T BE INVOLVED IN SUMMIT'S PIPELINE, HIS SON IS GEN'L COUNSEL
Jan. 7, 2022
Agri-Pulse reports:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has been told to recuse himself from specific matters involving Summit Carbon Solutions, which is seeking to build the world's largest carbon capture and storage project.
Vilsack's son, Jess, is now general counsel for the company, which is planning to build a pipeline that would capture and sequester carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota, and store the CO2 in North Dakota.
In a statement to Agri-Pulse, a USDA spokesperson said, "The secretary proactively informed the USDA Ethics Office, on Oct. 20, 2021, about his son moving into a new job in November 2021, and the Ethics Office provided him with guidance that he would need to recuse himself from specific party matters (such as contracts or cooperative grants) that the company may seek with USDA."
That would still allow Vilsack to participate in "broad government policy matters" affecting ethanol, the spokesperson said.
Keep in mind: Such pipelines are seen as a key method of reducing the carbon footprint of ethanol and expanding the biofuels market.
The progressive journal Mother Jones reported Thursday on Jess Vilsack's connection to the project. A group opposed to the Summit project, Food and Water Watch, said Vilsack's recusal isn't enough. His "subordinates are fully aware of his son's position with this company," said Mitch Jones, FWW's managing director of advocacy programs and policy.
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