Move underway to protect Illinois aquifer from carbon sequestration leaks

Following another leak at the Archer Daniels Midland carbon injection facility in Decatur, Illinois, some are looking for more protections for water supplies.

In September, the U.S. EPA announced a proposed enforcement against ADM for alleged violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act after a fluid leak.

“EPA alleges the company violated its Class VI Underground Injection Control permit when injected fluid migrated into an unauthorized zone roughly 5,000 feet deep,” the federal agency said. “The fluid migration was caused by holes in one of ADM’s monitoring wells. According to the company, the lower portion of the well has been plugged to stop further fluid migration.”

At that time, state Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, urged for his measure protecting aquifers from carbon dioxide injections be passed.

“This is exactly what I was sounding the alarm about back in May when Democrats were ramming through their supposedly ‘green’ Carbon Sequestration bill,” Rose said on Sept. 13. “This is exactly why that bill should not have passed, why Governor Pritzker should never have signed that bill. Because it leaves the Mahomet Aquifer exposed to this exact danger. And this is why my legislation … which would protect the aquifer from CO2 injection needs to be passed immediately.”

The Protect the Mahomet Aquifer Coalition said another leak at ADM revealed weeks later shows the importance of bills to prohibit carbon sequestration activity around aquifers.

"Our drinking water cannot be put at risk by these ongoing failures,” said Pam Richart, co-director of Eco-Justice Collaborative and a leading member of the Protect the Mahomet Aquifer Coalition. “It’s time for lawmakers to step in and ban CCS projects under the Mahomet Aquifer once and for all."

The group is advocating for action from the statehouse after the November election with bills from state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, and state Sen. Paul Farci, D-Champaign, “to prohibit carbon sequestration activity over, under, or through a sole-source aquifer” to be discussed during veto session.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said it was a good thing ADM ceased operations to further investigate any leaks.

“Yeah, it’s always a concern of course when someone is not able to meet the EPA standards, these are federal EPA standards, and I think the EPA has taken proper notice as well,” Pritzker said last week. “I’m glad of that. I think we need to pay attention to it.”

He urged for patience as the state’s regulations of carbon capture sequestration play out over the next two years.

“We’re going to evaluate as we move forward what the federal government is going to do because we’re waiting for them to come out with some pipeline standards as well as other work around the regulations around CCS because this really is relatively new,” Pritzker said.

ADM said “there is no risk or impact to the surface or groundwater sources or any threat to public health.”

The Protect the Mahomet Aquifer Coalition said while ADM has paused the program, the second leak “proves that carbon capture is not the safe, reliable technology its proponents claim it to be.”

Pritzker said the aquifer is safe. As to proposed legislation to bring more safeguards, Pritzker was reluctant.

“I think we should do our best, everything, to make sure that we’re protecting the Mahomet Aquifer,” he said. “I’m not sure that that bill is the right answer.”

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition said in a statement last month, “it’s not a matter of if carbon sequestration facilities leak, but rather when.”