After another marathon meeting Tuesday night, the McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals has deferred its decision on a special use permit for carbon sequestration to a fourth meeting.
The ZBA has been taking information and public testimony since Nov. 7 on a special-use permit requested by Gibson City-based ethanol plant One Earth Energy.
The requested permit would allow the company to drill three wells in rural, eastern McLean County, where it would then store C02 about a mile underground — a process referred to as carbon capture use or sequestration.
The matter has been hotly contested and defended by both supporters and skeptics of either the proposal itself, or the process of storing C02 underground; ZBA meetings have run to their three-hour limit at each meeting since Nov. 7.
On Tuesday, a speaker with ties to One Earth Energy gave testimony supporting the project.
Champaign farmer Jack Murray, who sits on the company's board, told ZBA members that failing to issue the permit could result in dramatic financial consequences in McLean County.
"Economically, if you thought losing 50% of State Farm changed the landscape in McLean County, do away with 40% of the farmers," Murray said. "Farmers spend money. ...You people know this and if you don't, go talk to your local business people. They'll let you know what farmers do when they make an extra dollar."
In particular, Murray stressed that as electric vehicles become more prevalent, the demand for ethanol may wane, meaning the corn that farmers produce for ethanol production would be worth less.
One Earth Energy is eyeing jet fuel production as an alternative, but the plant must meet additional clean energy standards set by the government in order to become a producer of that fuel, Murray said.
Capturing the CO2 released by the plant and storing it underground would help make the company's carbon footprint low enough for jet fuel production — hence the application for a special-use permit.
"Every day, Rivian is getting bigger. So, just like they're building more electric cars, we're going to use less ethanol," Murray said. "We have to look at other uses for ethanol."
Illinois People's Action Coalition Executive Director Don Carlson — a fixture at these ZBA meetings — suggested tax breaks were a driving factor of the company's interest in CO2 wells.
Via the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government raised the amount of tax credits it would provide to companies or other entites that participate in carbon capture storage methods.
Carbon capture has been supported by the Biden administration as a means of tackling climate change, bringing the country closer to a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Carlson suggested REX American Resources Corp., the majority stock owner of One Earth Energy, would receive the tax breaks; Murray said the Gibson City-based company would.
Other speakers Tuesday voiced concerns about the wells being on or near their property.
Neal Brandt of Gibson City told the ZBA that he was "neutral" on the project due to a lack of information.
Brandt said the land he owns and farms with his family is near where the potential CO2 well sites would be, something he learned from neighbors who told him.
"Which leads me to wonder: If they overlooked the communication with landowners, adjacent land owners, and other stakeholders, have they overlooked something else?" Brandt said. "I request, I hope, you take this into consideration as you make your zoning decisions."
The federal Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] is still in the process of reviewing application materials from One Earth Energy; the company has applied for what's called a Class VI Well permit.
In issuing those permits, the EPAhas developed requirements for the creation and use of the wells that ensure underground source of water are protected.
Only two other such permits have been issued in Illinois; both were to Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Those Decatur-area carbon sequestration wells have been active since 2009.
Nick Malkewicz, the president of Champaign-based Projeo, a company focused on carbon storage and working with One Earth Energy, said the wells "have behaved as expected."
The ZBA adjourned Tuesday night with no decision. The board will meet again on Tuesday, Dec. 5, but will not take any further testimony. Permit applicant One Earth Energy will be allowed to offer rebuttal and anyone who provided testimony can give a closing statement.
The McLean County state's attorney's office also is expected to advise the ZBA during that meeting.
