After months of debate, the Illinois House and Senate passed a bill to ban carbon sequestration projects at sole-source aquifers on Tuesday, May 20. In a bipartisan effort, the House voted 91-19, sending the legislation to Governor Pritzker’s desk for approval.
“Although carbon sequestration undergoes rigorous federal and State permitting, the uniqueness of the Mahomet Aquifer being the sole source of drinking water for central Illinois residents warrants additional protection,” reads the bill.
Carbon sequestration is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and injecting it underground. After Archer-Daniels-Midland’s carbon sequestration facility in Decatur, Illinois leaked, environmentalists started lobbying for efforts to protect the integrity of the Mahomet Aquifer, which serves nearly one million people.
Aquifers are bodies of rock and sediment completely saturated with water. However, water flowing into aquifers runs the risk of getting contaminated. Per Champaign’s Public Works Department, “Contaminants may reach the aquifer through natural or man-made pathways. Deliberate disposal of waste such as landfills, septic tanks, and injection wells can have an impact on the quality of an aquifer.”
The bill prevents any individual from conducting a “carbon sequestration activity within a sequestration facility that overlies, underlies, or passes through a sole source aquifer.” Additionally, it creates the “Mahomet Aquifer Advisory Study Commission” to study the safety of carbon injections near aquifers.
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The bill originally banned carbon sequestration not only in aquifers, but also in “recharge areas” which supply aquifers with water. However, the bill was amended to exclude those recharge areas from the ban. Nevertheless, environmentalist groups such as Prairie River Networks still support this bill.
“Prairie Rivers Network supports SB1723, even as amended,” Prairie Rivers Network wrote. “We fought hard to pass the strongest bill possible, and accepted concessions only when it became clear they were the only path to protecting the majority of the Mahomet Aquifer.”
The bill was filed by Senator Paul Faraci of the 52nd district, encompassing Champaign-Urbana, and Representative Carol Ammons of the 103rd district, also encompassing C-U, was the Chief House Sponsor.
“The Mahomet Aquifer is once again threatened by corporate interests – but Senator Faraci and I have a bill to protect it,” Ammons posted on Instagram.
In another post, she said, “Our tolerance for risking our Mahomet Aquifer, our sole source of clean drinking water is – and always will be- zero.”
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, a trade association which lobbies on behalf of manufacturing interests, is calling for Governor Pritzker to veto the bill after earlier expressing their opposition when the Senate passed it.
“Carbon capture and sequestration is a safe and proven technology that is critical to decarbonizing our environment while maintaining economic growth and prosperity,” said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, in a statement. “Though we appreciate the willingness of the Senate sponsor to have conversations about this bill, we remain opposed to the legislation as drafted.”
