The McLean County Board on Thursday resoundingly rejected a company’s request to capture and store carbon in a trio of wells near Saybrook, citing lack of a safety plan for the proposal.
But Lea Cline, who chairs the land use and development committee, told the board if Gibson City-based One Earth Sequestration were to submit such a plan to the county’s Zoning Board of Appeals [ZBA], the CO2 wells permit might be reconsidered.
In general, rejections can’t be resubmitted for one year. But if new evidence demonstrating a changed situation is there, “the director of building and zoning can waive that requirement, and submit the application for review, without delay,” said Cline.
She noted the company, which is a subsidiary of One Earth Energy, still needs to get its Class VI well permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and that’s not expected for another year; and that the Illinois Commerce Commission hasn’t OK’d the company’s proposed pipeline to the sites in Anchor and Cheney's Grove townships.
“So, this delay, while I’m sure frustrating, is not terminal,” said Cline.
Thursday’s 19-0 decision to vote down the zoning board’s recommendation to approve the permit drew applause from the crowded chamber. Many opponents had spoken against the proposed project — both on Thursday, and during four previous ZBA hearings on the matter. They have raised safety and health concerns surrounding the carbon capture and storage process.
District 2’s William Friedrich (R) abstained from voting, due to a conflict of interest.
No one from One Earth addressed the board. The company’s operations at the wells near Saybrook would be a step toward expanding the company’s manufacturing capacity, according to Nov. 22 testimony from Jack Murray, a Champaign farmer who sits on One Earth’s board.
Carbon capture and storage [CCS] is a method of cutting back on the carbon dioxide footprint of large producers. The gases are captured, and sent down deep into an underground well.
During the zoning board hearings, and during Thursday's public comments, the merits of CSS have been questioned. People say answers are unclear about how long the carbon can stay underground, and whether leaks into water sources or back into the atmosphere could be an issue.
Cline explains opposition to permit
No county board member other than Cline discussed the permit application during the meeting. Just before the vote, she offered reasons for voting against it. From the rest of the board’s lack of discussion, but steady relay of “no” votes that followed, one could surmise she spoke for the group.
Cline reviewed the history of the county board’s creation of guidelines for CO2 wells, and the parallel submission of One Earth’s application. She and board chair Catherine Metsker, along with several other board members and county administrators, served on a working group focused on this new possible land use in McLean County.
The zoning board recommended on Dec. 6 that the county board approve the permit, based on One Earth meeting seven set criteria.
However, District 8’s Cline (D), said Thursday she disagreed with the ZBA’s assessment that the first one had been met.
That rule states the proposed land use is “not to be detrimental to, or endanger the health, safety, morals, comfort or welfare of the public,” Cline said.
During 10 hours of ZBA hearings, the county learned One Earth does not have emergency or remediation plans for drinking water safety, or possible above-ground accidents, said Cline. Nor does it have one for emergency responder training and equipment, as it relates to carbon capture and storage, she said.
“We were told that they were working on these plans, and reaching out to various EMA [emergency management agencies] and public safety entities. But these plans were not presented to the ZBA,” at the time of the zoning board’s recommended approval, said Cline.
This posed a problem, she said. That’s because even if One Earth Energy submitted safety plans to the ZBA in the future, a county board vote issuing the special-use permit on Thursday would have thus been an uninformed decision.
Following the meeting, board chair Metsker (R), who serves District 1, said Thursday's decision didn't mean the board doesn't respect the work the zoning board has put into the process.
Among the county board's 20 members, many attended the hearings, and those who didn't attend watched recordings or read transcripts. They all saw the extensive work the ZBA was doing throughout this process, she said.
But in the end, they disagreed with the ZBA assessment about the special-use permit, she said.
"It appears that we all believed that the No. 1 factor — that was safety — was not met, from that criteria," said Metsker, adding, "I think the message was sent that the safety piece was not satisfied to the degree the county board members thought it should be."
Public commenters question CO2 well safety
Prior to the vote Thursday, nearly a half hour was devoted to opponents offering more public comment against the proposal.
Dawn Dannenbring, lead environmental organizer for Illinois People’s Action [IPA] was among the speakers calling for the county board to reject the special-use permit.
After the meeting, Dannenbring told WGLT the advocacy group was very happy with the board’s vote, and she was confident they’d made a difference in the decision.
“This is the first sequestration in the country that has been stopped by community organizing, and the public weighing in,” she said.
Next, IPA plans to continue its efforts, taking aim at C02 well proposals in other Illinois counties.
The group also wants to get a message to President Biden, that it disagrees carbon capture and storage belongs in a U.S. plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At Thursday’s meeting, Dannenbring was passing out postcards to the crowd, Addressed to the White House, the cards read: “All We Want for Christmas is no CCS.”
In other business, the board approved
- An intergovernmental agreement between the county and the City of Bloomington Elections, to make Eastland Mall an early voting site for the March and November elections in 2024.
WGLT reporter Lyndsay Jones contributed to this story.
