Community Benefits Snapshot: Tallgrass-Bold Alliance CO2 Pipeline Community Benefits Agreement

This case study examines a first-of-its-kind community benefits agreement (CBA) signed in 2024 between Tallgrass and Bold Alliance regarding the Trailblazer CO2 Pipeline. The project involves converting a 392-mile natural gas pipeline into a CO2 pipeline to transport emissions from Nebraska's ethanol industry for sequestration in Wyoming. The CBA establishes legally binding protections for landowners, public safety funding for first responders, and a shared-value endowment program to ensure local communities benefit from the project's operations.

• Tallgrass is converting the 392-mile Trailblazer natural gas pipeline into a CO2 pipeline to transport emissions from Nebraska ethanol production to sequestration sites in Wyoming. The $1.5 billion project is designed to store 10 million metric tons of CO2 annually, which is equivalent to removing 2 million passenger vehicles from the road each year.
• The 2024 CBA between Tallgrass and Bold Alliance includes a first-of-its-kind 10-year royalty program. This shared value program provides an annual endowment of $0.10 per metric ton of CO2 sequestered on the system, split between landowners along the right-of-way and a community foundation. At maximum capacity, this could result in $1 million annually for landowners.
• The CBA establishes specific landowner protections throughout the project life cycle. These include a 48-hour notice before surveying, a $500 payment if a surveyed property is not used, and the option for landowners to receive easement payments as annual payments rather than a lump sum to reduce tax burdens. Regarding decommissioning, landowners can choose to have the pipe removed and land reclaimed, or leave it in place for a $15,000 compensation payment.
• To address public safety and CO2 leak risks, Tallgrass committed $400,000 for equipment and $200,000 for training first responders, with up to $40,000 in annual funding for equipment replacement. Additionally, the company will provide $100,000 to the Nebraska Department of Emergency Management to create a regional CO2 emergency alert system and send annual safety notices to landowners within three miles of the pipeline.
• Community investment is facilitated through an initial $500,000 donation to a community fund and an annual endowment of up to $1 million based on CO2 volume. To ensure neutrality, grants from this foundation are allocated by a third party rather than by Tallgrass or Bold Alliance.
• The CBA is a legally binding agreement with Bold Alliance serving as the in-community accountability partner, employing a full-time staff member to oversee implementation. While Tallgrass agreed to a 90-day good-faith negotiation period before using eminent domain, it refused to commit to a total ban on the practice.
• The success of the CBA was attributed to Tallgrass' proactive engagement, which included eight open houses, over a dozen roundtables, and nearly 1,000 stakeholder engagements. The agreement was endorsed by 11 Nebraska-based organizations, including the Nebraska Farm Bureau and Nebraska Corn Growers Association, though these groups are not legal parties to the contract.

APA

World Resources Institute (2024). Community Benefits Snapshot: Tallgrass-Bold Alliance CO2 Pipeline Community Benefits Agreement. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshot-tallgrass-bold-alliance-co2-pipeline-community-benefits

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Community Benefits Snapshot: Tallgrass-Bold Alliance CO2 Pipeline Community Benefits Agreement. 2024. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshot-tallgrass-bold-alliance-co2-pipeline-community-benefits.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Community Benefits Snapshot: Tallgrass-Bold Alliance CO2 Pipeline Community Benefits Agreement |date=3 December 2024 |url=https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshot-tallgrass-bold-alliance-co2-pipeline-community-benefits |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2024community, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Community Benefits Snapshot: Tallgrass-Bold Alliance CO2 Pipeline Community Benefits Agreement}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshot-tallgrass-bold-alliance-co2-pipeline-community-benefits}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }