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Senate President puts hold on bill to protect key aquifers from carbon sequestration

Thursday, Nov 14, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Capitol News Illinois

An Illinois Senate committee hit pause on a bill to ban carbon sequestration injections near aquifers after more than an hour of debate Wednesday.

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, asked that the Senate Executive Committee to wait to act on Senate Bill 3968, which would have banned the practice, until lawmakers can learn more about the carbon injection process and its environmental risks. The bill was proposed after it was revealed that ADM, the Decatur-based agriculture giant, violated federal regulations when liquid carbon dioxide leaked into areas outside the scope of their permit. […]

The Mahomet Aquifer stretches across central Illinois from the Illinois River to the Indiana state line. The aquifer is federally designated as a “sole source” for hundreds of thousands of residents in Central Illinois, meaning there are no easily available backup sources of drinking water if the aquifer were to become contaminated. […]

The bill was proposed by two senators served by the aquifer, Sen. Paul Faraci, D-Champaign, with Republican Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, lending bipartisan support. Faraci told committee members the drinking water’s protection has been the top concern in his district, while Rose vocally opposed a measure that passed in May to temporarily pause then allow for carbon capture technology in Illinois, in part because it did not contain protections for aquifers.

That law imposed a two-year moratorium on new pipeline construction for transporting captured carbon to storage sites in Illinois while the federal government works out new regulations. Once the two years pass, or the federal government establishes regulations, the Illinois Commerce Commission will then oversee a strict permitting process to approve projects that have already been granted federal permits.

Harmon indicated that two-year ramp gives lawmakers time to further discuss potential protections for aquifers.

* Center Square

An assessment from the Illinois Geological Survey noted the vulnerability of the [Mahomet Aquifer], warning that carbon capture activities would need to be closely monitored to prevent environmental damage.

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, urged lawmakers not to jump to conclusions.

“I view this as the beginning of a very critical conversation and I’m glad the surveys are involved,” said Harmon. “I would like to digest this and get even more expert information.”

Archer Daniels Midland’s carbon capture facility in central Illinois was the first permitted commercial carbon sequestration operation in the country, but has experienced two leaks this year.

* WAND TV

Faraci and Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) said the legislation should be a top priority for lawmakers to pass during veto session. Rose stressed this shouldn’t be a partisan issue since there is a common sense solution.

“The point is we shouldn’t have any risk,” Rose said. “There’s no acceptable risk because this is the sole source. There is no other alternate source where you just turn on a switch and you get water from somewhere else. You can’t.”

* Gov. Pritzker was asked about the new proposal yesterday

Let me be clear, we all want to protect the Mahomet Aquifer, and we want to make sure that carbon sequestration is something that’s good for the state and for the country. So thinking about, you know, legislation about it is the right thing to do if it needs to be done. Remember that the legislation that we passed actually doesn’t directly have any threat to the Mahomet Aquifer. So question is, do you have to have a new piece of legislation to address something that doesn’t seem to be faced with the legislation that we already have on the books.

* Press release…

In response to Senate leadership’s decision to withhold a vote on the Mahomet Aquifer protections bill today, the Protect the Mahomet coalition released the following statements:

“I’m disappointed in the Senate leadership’s decision to withhold a vote on the Mahomet Aquifer protections bill today,” said Andrew Rehn, director of Climate Policy at Prairie Rivers Network. “Prairie Rivers Network will engage in the ‘continued conversations’ that Senate leadership is calling for, but the need is clear: Central Illinois needs a ban on carbon sequestration through and under the Mahomet Aquifer to protect our drinking water.”

“I’m not sure what there is left to ‘get right.’ The right thing to do is to protect the Mahomet Aquifer, where the risk tolerance is zero,” said Pam Richart, co-director of Eco-Justice Collaborative. “During the hearing, the risks to our drinking water were underplayed by industry and experts. What wasn’t discussed was the failures of ADM’s leaking project. At ADM, we experienced a design failure, a material failure, an operator failure, and a moral failure. The projects already proposed (and there could be more) would be 50 times the size of ADM’s existing project, which has already leaked twice.”

“We were very disappointed this important bill didn’t proceed today,” said Dawn Dannenbring, a Leader with Illinois People’s Action. “The Mahomet Aquifer still needs protection. The Illinois Senate needs to hear from everyone who is concerned about their safe drinking water after today’s hearing.”

* WCIA

Opponents of the legislation say they understand the concerns but argue the state has the strongest protections in the nation on this technology.

“It departs from the science based regulatory approach for CCS that was negotiated in the spring session and passed into law with strong support,” Brad Stotler with the Illinois Renewable Fuels Association said during the hearing.

       

25 Comments »
  1. - very old soil - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 8:19 am:

    Opponents of the legislation say they understand the concerns but argue the state has the strongest protections in the nation on this technology.

    Strongest protections does not necessarily mean adequate protections


  2. - Liz Chaplin - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 8:27 am:

    After experiencing the dangers of water contamination firsthand in Downers Grove, Il, I understand the deep concern many Central Illinois residents have for the Mahomet Aquifer. Unlike in my case, where we had an alternative water source, the Mahomet Aquifer is the sole source of drinking water. Waiting to act on a bill to protect this vital resource is a risk we can’t afford. This isn’t about politics; it’s about safeguarding communities from potential disaster. A proactive ban on carbon injection near the Mahomet Aquifer is essential to ensure safe, reliable drinking water for generations to come.


  3. - Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 9:12 am:

    I’m happy that so many legislators are concerned with protecting this aquifer. I hope they extend that concern to other aquifers and the threats to those aquifers from a wide variety of potential and actual contamination sources.


  4. - Candy Dogood - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 9:14 am:

    I guess the Senate President wants to make sure everyone knows which lobbyists own him.


  5. - Concerned Sir - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 9:44 am:

    While I agree that the aquifer should be protected, it should have been protected in the original bill. These same groups advocating for protection now, were the same groups advocating for the original bill that put the aquifer at risk in the first place….if this is such a serious issue why were enviro groups running around 4 months ago calling this the “strongest protections in the land.” Evidently not strong enough…..


  6. - Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 10:07 am:

    Is it possible President Harmon is more focused on fundraising than the protection of the aquifer? I’m shocked that there is gambling in Casablanca.


  7. - Give Us Barabbas - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 10:40 am:

    This project was touted as experimental. The experiment has failed. What was learned was, the choice of location was poor, the execution and ongoing management of the project was faulty, and ADM was not to be trusted with a process that puts at risk an irreplaceable water resource. There was a lot of money to be made though, so Harmon is holding up the bill until the industry can hornswoggle us all into continuing. Maybe it can be made to work elsewhere, where there isn’t an aquifer. But that would cost more to set up. If you ask me, the environmental costs are too high to just start fifty ADM’s drilling these things any darn where.


  8. - Just A Thought - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 10:41 am:

    Everyone saying that Harmon is the worst are the same people that go to him and kiss the ring when they need something.


  9. - Frank - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 10:47 am:

    It’s been pretty well established that when the interests of the greens and labor conflict, Harmon sides with labor. What’s most interesting on this issue is that, based on the above quote, JB is seemingly leaning in that direction, too.


  10. - Donnie Elgin - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 10:48 am:

    =Archer Daniels Midland’s carbon capture facility in central Illinois was the first permitted commercial carbon sequestration operation in the country but has experienced two leaks this year.=

    ADM is the first federally permitted CCS operation - there are over a dozen CCS facilities in other states that are regulated at the state level. The EPA looked into the leaks and they posed no threats to groundwater…

    “ADM’s project is largely exempted from the new regulations and Decatur sits south of the aquifer, but environmental activists say the leak should act as a wake-up call.

    “ADM’s project is largely exempted from the new regulations and Decatur sits south of the aquifer”

    https://ipmnewsroom.org/adm-stops-carbon-injection-as-its-decatur-facility-remains-under-federal-scrutiny/


  11. - Duck Duck Goose - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 10:59 am:

    Anybody remember fracking and how the industry swore up and down that they had the strongest protections and it was a scientific fact that nothing could ever go wrong? Now you can find scads of YouTube videos of people lighting their tap water on fire.


  12. - Dupage - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 11:19 am:

    The aquifer under parts of DuPage county by West Chicago is contaminated by radioactive thorium and will remain unusable for thousands of years. This was caused by a large corporation dumping radioactive waste. When discovered, the corporation assured everyone that they would take care of it. They then turned and ran, declared bankruptcy and escaped most of the multi-billion-dollar cost of the EPA superfund clean-up efforts.
    If ADM has an accident that contaminates the Mahomet aquifer, what’s to keep ADM from declaring bankruptcy and leaving the state to deal with it?
    I think the ban should be permanent.


  13. - JS Mill - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 12:07 pm:

    Funny how when there is a potential threat (or threat) to Chapin Roses local water source he is all in on environmental protections and less enthusiastic on reducing business regulations.


  14. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 12:13 pm:

    Wish there could be a solution that ends with carbonated water. We could market is as Mahomet Springs Sparkling Water and make bank.

    But chemistry isn’t my strong suit.


  15. - Demoralized - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 12:52 pm:

    ==Rose stressed this shouldn’t be a partisan issue since there is a common sense solution.==

    Lol. A Republican arguing for environmental regulations.


  16. - Mister Ed - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 1:11 pm:

    ==They then turned and ran, declared bankruptcy and escaped most of the multi-billion-dollar cost of the EPA superfund clean-up efforts.
    If ADM has an accident that contaminates the Mahomet aquifer, what’s to keep ADM from declaring bankruptcy and leaving the state to deal with it?
    I think the ban should be permanent.= Dupage nailed this. It isn’t just ADM but others as well- industrial agriculture tainting wells with no other water available, wells contaminated by fracking, and so many others. Deregulation will make it much worse and those that contaminate and pollute our air, water, and land should have to pay the full costs. It seems to fall on the taxpayer more often than not. Just saying.


  17. - Payback - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 1:30 pm:

    “There is no other alternate source where you just turn on a switch and you get water from somewhere else.” Harmon lives in Oak Park, they probably get water from Lake Michigan. He doesn’t care about Chapin Rose and the hicks outside Chicago. These projects giving eminent domain to private companies are evil. The end game here is to steal private lands and farms.


  18. - Steve Polite - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 1:51 pm:

    Strongest protections are not equal to zero risk. No company can permanently guarantee zero risk to an underground sole source aquifer.


  19. - Blue Dog - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 2:27 pm:

    why bother with Carbon sequestration when we allow 1000 trips a day at 40 miles to the round trip. load the coal on a barge so India and China can burn fossil fuels. it would be a significantly smaller carbon footprint if we kept the coal in illinois and used it.


  20. - Um, no - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 2:48 pm:

    Chapin Rose was all over this during the original debate.

    Regardless of what you think of Senator Rose, it is undeniable that he was WAY out in front of the enviros on this one.


  21. - Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Nov 14, 24 @ 5:24 pm:

    == Maybe it can be made to work elsewhere, where there isn’t an aquifer.==

    There is no such place. Quality and yield may vary, but aquifers are everywhere.

    == Regardless of what you think of Senator Rose, it is undeniable that he was WAY out in front of the enviros on this one.==

    I think the key phrase here is “on this one.” Environmental protection only works when the legislator works to consistently protect the environment. Popping up to object when your local supply is threatened doesn’t really count as being “way out front.”


  22. - Open minded - Friday, Nov 15, 24 @ 12:20 pm:

    Unfortunately, we often encounter opposition to innovative technologies designed to mitigate the effects of carbon emissions from the very activists who claim to prioritize saving the planet. Illinois cannot become a leader in advancing future technologies and driving progress if critical decisions are influenced solely by individuals unwilling to consider diverse perspectives or embrace new advancements. Open-mindedness, education, and adaptability are essential for fostering innovation and addressing environmental challenges effectively.


  23. - RHT123 - Monday, Nov 18, 24 @ 4:35 pm:

    Protecting the environment - our air and water - must be done together and on multiple fronts. That means a balance must be achieved to employ new technologies, like carbon capture, alongside ongoing work to protect water quality. If care is taken in both areas - precise and ongoing work to monitor and care for our water and continued development and education of new opportunities like carbon capture, carbon capture can successfully be employed, too.


  24. - For science and innovation - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 11:31 am:

    I believe that carbon sequestration brings good to our planet and our future, and I believe that we are capable of putting the safeguards/regulations in place that allow us to realize the benefits plus take care of our water.


  25. - Trust the science - Tuesday, Nov 19, 24 @ 3:14 pm:

    Progress in any field requires trust in science and technology. Without this trust, we would not have life-saving vaccines, surgeries, or medicines that have transformed healthcare. While it is true that some level of risk accompanies many actions in life, the benefits of scientific advancements far outweigh these risks.

    When it comes to global warming, the stakes are even higher. Failing to address the dangers of carbon emissions will have devastating consequences for humanity and the planet. It is crucial to rely on accurate information and scientific consensus, rather than falling prey to misinformation or misconceptions. Only by trusting science can we develop effective solutions to combat climate change and secure a sustainable future.


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