The Ford County Board’s zoning committee meets Thursday, Oct. 3, from left: Chase McCall of Gibson City, Ann Ihrke of rural Buckley, Cindy Ihrke of rural Roberts and Gene May of Paxton. Will Brumleve/Ford County Chronicle
PAXTON — A public hearing of the Ford County Zoning Board of Appeals that got under way Monday night has been continued until next week, when further testimony will be taken on a proposed ordinance regulating the siting of carbon dioxide sequestration facilities in the county.
The recessed hearing was set for 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, in the main courtroom at the Ford County Courthouse,
200 W. State St., Paxton.
According to the county board’s vice chairman, Cindy Ihrke of rural Roberts, an estimated 10 people submitted testimony Monday supporting the ordinance and asking to include a countywide ban on any carbon dioxide sequestration or pipeline project near the Mahomet Aquifer, including its recharge area. Earlier this month, the county board approved a resolution in support of a proposed statewide legislative ban on carbon sequestration facilities under solesource aquifers like the Mahomet Aquifer, citing concerns about the potential for such projects to contaminate the water supply.
Ihrke said she was not sure how many people had signed up to testify. Of the roughly 10 who had already testified, “almost all” had submitted evidence to support their testimony, Ihrke said.
“I saw the signup sheet, and it looked like maybe around 20 or so people total (were there to testify) in support (of the ordinance),” Ihrke said. “Only One Earth (Sequestration’s) attorney signed up (to testify) against (the ordinance), but he hasn’t cross-examined anyone else (besides the county board’s zoning committee chairman, Ann Ihrke of rural Buckley) so far, so we’ll see what they present next week.”
Gibson City-based One Earth Sequestration, a division of One Earth Energy LLC, has proposed to build a $19 million carbon capture and sequestration project in Ford and McLean counties. The project would involve the construction of a 5.92- mile pipeline to transport liquefied CO2 captured from One Earth Energy’s ethanol plant in Gibson City to two sequestration wells in eastern McLean County, where the CO2 would be sent thousands of feet underground to be permanently stored.
“The One Earth attorney cross-examined Mrs. Ihrke and asked her if she was aware that One Earth currently has been issued a permit for a sequestration well on their site,” Cindy Ihrke said. “She said she was. He then asked if she thought this ordinance would have jurisdiction on that project, and she said she believes that project is within the jurisdiction of Gibson City.”
After the ZBA hears all testimony, it will issue a recommendation in support or against the proposed ordinance.
The ZBA’s recommendation will then be considered by the 12-member county board during its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, in the basement of the county jail and sheriff’s office in Paxton.
The countywide regulations proposed in the 16- page ordinance include minimum setbacks from homes, utilities and roads, as well as requirements pertaining to emergency response and evacuation plans, noise mitigation plans, abandonment mitigation plans, state and federal design and safety standards, warning signs and land easements, for example. Special-use permits would be required to build and operate any CO2 pipeline or injection site.
While the local regulations would not be enforceable until permits are able to be issued in Illinois for such projects — as a statewide moratorium continues for the next two years or until updated safety standards are set by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — county board members want to get some rules in place now as a proactive measure.
“I’d just feel better if there’s something on the books,” Ann Ihrke said earlier this month, when the county board’s zoning committee approved advancing the regulations to the ZBA. “I think it’s a good ordinance.”
Since 2020, when a Mississippi CO2 pipeline ruptured, concerns have been growing about the safety of carbon sequestration facilities and their potential impact on public water systems. In Illinois, concerns intensified recently after agribusiness giant ADM said it found another “anomaly” in one of the wells at its Decatur carbon dioxide sequestration plant, causing it to pause carbon dioxide injections. ADM was already under the close watch of federal regulators following a leak of 8,000 metric tons of liquid carbon dioxide earlier this year.
The public hearing in Ford County also includes consideration of a proposed ordinance regulating battery storage facilities and proposed text amendments to language in the county’s ordinance regulating solar-energy facilities.
“Ann Ihrke gave a brief overview of each ordinance and answered questions from the ZBA in relation to the ordinances,” Cindy Ihrke said. “There was no support or opposition to the battery storage ordinance or the text changes to the solar ordinance.”