McLean County's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is recommending an amendment to the county's zoning code that adds new parameters for regulating the drilling and placement of underground carbon storage wells.
ZBA members voted unanimously Tuesday night to send the proposed amendment to the full county board for a vote and potential adoption.
The move comes about two months after the county board's land use committee drafted and proposed the amendment in September. In the months since, the McLean County State's Attorney's Office has issued a legal opinion on the county's role in regulating carbon sequestration wells, and the ZBA has held public hearings on the proposed amendment.
A burgeoning industry, carbon capture and storage involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions produced by a large source (like an ethanol or power plant), liquifying the emissions under pressure and pumping them underground for long-term storage. By being stored underground, the carbon emissions, in theory, are withheld from the atmosphere.
McLean County has been anticipating the industry's possible presence within its borders for some time, with county board members first voting in May to require CO2 capture and storage companies file for a special-use zoning permit t that would then trigger public hearings on the matter.
Now, with the ZBA's recommendation of a new text amendment, the county board will vote on whether to include new language that:
- Wells cannot be within 1,500 feet of an occupied home, livestock shelter, commercial or manufacturing building, school, house of worship or community building;
- A requirement for the zoning permit applicant or well owner to work with local fire and emergency management agencies to both develop and fund emergency response plans. The amendment will now include provisions for ensuring there is adequate equipment and training or certifications needed for handling CO2-specific emergencies. Evacuation plans must also be included.
Speaking to reporters after Tuesday's ZBA meeting, Dawn Dannenbring, a climate and environmental justice organizer with Bloomington-based Illinois People's Action, said the new provisions in the amendment still signaled "a win" for activists who were concerned with the county's initial draft.
"There are things... that weren't in the original plan, like the evacuation plan which is something you [requested] heard over and over from people who testified, the equipment being adequate, the training that is being asked for... those are all things we think are critical," she said.
Lea Cline, District 8 county board member and land use committee chair, said in a statement to ZBA members Tuesday that the amendment is an acknowledgement of the county's particular role in regulating CO2 wells in the absence of significant state regulation and no legal authority to ban them outright.
"Our rights are limited in that they cannot supersede federal authority, but they do specifically state that we should use our zoning authority to, among other things, preserve and protect property rights, provide safety from danger and to conserve natural resources," Cline said.
McLean County Director of Building and Zoning Phil Dick said the recommended amendment will likely go before the county board in December, since it's too late to be included in a meeting this week.
Also on Tuesday's ZBA agenda was a hearing continued from Nov. 7 regarding a special-use permit application from Gibson City-based One Earth Energy.The company is seeking to drill three carbon sequestration wells within Cheneys Grove and Anchor townships in eastern McLean County.
The ZBA took over an hour of testimony, but adjourned the meeting after reaching a three-hour limit at 10 p.m. Members will resume the meeting on Nov. 21.
