Fresh water is among the most vital resources known to humankind, and thus it is our duty to protect it.
We were reminded of this earlier this month, when we learned Archer Daniel Midland Co. had been cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to properly respond to the seepage of injected carbon dioxide into "unauthorized zones" below its North American headquarters in Decatur.
EPA officials said the company failed to follow an emergency response plan and failed to monitor the well, located about 5,000 feet below the ground.
There is no evidence this put the public at risk. The area where the leak occurred is thousands of feet below most domestic water wells and the deepest portions of Lake Decatur but about 500 feet above the start of the Mt. Simon Sandstone, the layer of rock in which ADM is permitted to inject carbon dioxide.
But as long as the potential for carbon contamination exists, companies like ADM must strictly adhere to these policies aimed to protect the Mahomet Aquifer and, by extension, the water source for more than 800,000 people across Illinois.
The aquifer lies beneath 16 counties, primarily in East Central Illinois, and the water that flows into it could be contaminated by human action above or below it.
The carbon dioxide seepage flagged by the EPA was a symptom of carbon sequestration, the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide, keeping it out of the earth’s atmosphere. Companies like ADM have been allowed to use this practice, which can be seen as an effort to reduce the “carbon footprint” and reduce the effects of climate change.
While we are supportive of continued innovation and the implementation of proven and safe technology, we argue too much remains unknown to risk this resource that provides drinking water for thousands of Illinoisans.
As long as the long-term effects of carbon sequestration remain unclear, those who use it must maintain transparency in order to facilitate trust.
ADM’s citation from the EPA stemmed from the discovery of corrosion in one of the company’s two deep monitoring wells, which has since been fixed. That discovery was made in late 2023. In March 2024, “formation fluid” related to the corrosion was found above the confining zone, which is a geological formation meant to serve as a barrier separating carbon storage sites from drinking water sources and the surface above.
It is now September 2024.
If companies want to continue to use carbon sequestration and allow for further research to be conducted on its effects and best practices, they must be forthcoming when problems arise.
It is in the best interest of private actors to facilitate an environment in which carbon sequestration has support, and that will not happen if they wait until a month after the EPA issues a citation to publicly acknowledge a complication.
As the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition stated after the violation was issued, “The total lack of public notification of the leak in the month following the agency’s alleged notice of violation to ADM is unacceptable and dangerous.”
The EPA will seek to bring ADM into compliance for this violation, using an administrative order. But there should be consequences, and we must take this as a warning, as a lesson that we are still learning.
We cannot fix the problem of climate change by creating a new problem of contaminated water.
So we will continue to learn more about carbon sequestration, how best to use it and how to keep it safe, but it will take time. And as we learn more, we must prioritize the protection of the Mahomet Aquifer.
We don’t get a second chance at a resource like the Mahomet Aquifer. If we lose it, there is no going back.
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