Over the last few years, environmental groups and others in Central Illinois have raised concerns about the region's water potentially becoming contaminated by an emerging technology that's intended to reduce the harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
State senators responded to those concerns by voting unanimously, 55-0, on Thursday to ban carbon sequestration near the Mahomet Aquifer, the sole source of water for nearly 1 million people in the region, including much of McLean County.
Carbon capture is a controversial method in which climate-warming gases are taken from the atmosphere and buried deep underground. Proponents consider it a climate solution. Critics say it's unsafe and the benefits are overstated, especially after a series of leaks in Decatur.
State Sen. Chris Balkema, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal, said his top priority is to keep the aquifer safe.
“I am all for protecting water,” Balkema said. “I am for protecting the aquifer, and I think it's a wise thing to ensure that we are not drilling or putting any type of carbon anywhere near that.”
Balkema was undecided a month ago. He said he was encouraged to see carbon capture's potential to transform CO2 into a sustainable jet fuel, but now said he doesn’t want to take a risk.
Balkema also said he is taking a data-driven approach, recommending exploring new ways to develop safer carbon capture technology not near the aquifer.
“I'm also very interested in staying aligned with the facts and the data, to understand all of the facts and data around sequestering carbon, putting it into ground overall,” Balkema said. “So, it's a bit of moving pieces. This legislation is necessary, and I will be in favor of the ban on drilling near the aquifer. And we ought to continue to look at the data out there to see what opportunities exist to find any safe measures or means that we can to continue to drill in other areas that are not around the water.”
Lawmakers also heard from environmentalists urging them to protect the aquifer, though one group withdrew its support for the bill after a late modification limited the area that would forbid carbon storage.
The change limits the ban to the Mahomet sole source aquifer area, while the original plan encompassed the aquifer's project review area, which includes Bloomington-Normal and parts of eastern McLean County and Ford County.
Illinois People's Action staged a rally in Uptown Normal on Thursday to protest the change, considering it an added environmental risk.
"We cannot in good conscience support this amendment knowing it is not less than an attempt to gut the original intent of the bill," IPA organizer Brent Lage said.
That provision was included in the measure that the Senate adopted on Thursday.
Vietnam veteran Mike Kerber, who also spoke at the rally, said he's worried about water contamination — and likened it to a chemical exposure that caused him to get cancer.
“I have had my problems with Agent Orange and now we wanna put CO2 near our drinking water," Kerber said. "Can you imagine what happens if our drinking water goes bad? What our grandchildren will say, 'What in the hell were you thinking?’”
Not everyone thinks banning carbon capture near the Mahomet Aquifer is necessary.
The Illinois Manufacturers' Association said in a statement the technology is safe and necessary to help the environment, and the group said Illinois already has the most stringent carbon capture regulations in the country.
There already is a moratorium in Illinois on new carbon pipelines for another year.
The bill awaits a vote in the Illinois House.
