CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WMBD/WYZZ) — Over 1,000 signatures have been gathered by Tazewell County residents opposed to the Wolf Carbon Solutions Pipeline project, and those petitions have been presented to the County Board Wednesday night.
Among the opposition groups is Citizens Against Predatory Pipelines (CAPP), and President Joyce Harant ultimately wants the project to be dismissed. However, she wants to at least delay the project.
“Let’s slow this down, let’s have a moratorium, and then let’s make sure we’re developing some ordinances that if this does happen, we know how we want to handle this as a special use in Tazewell County,” she said.
This comes after another carbon capture company, Navigator, decided last week to halt its efforts to run a pipeline through western and southern Illinois.
Among the problems Harant has with the pipeline is eminent domain, where private property can be used for public use.
“That is a misuse of the power of eminent domain for a private company’s total benefit. There is no benefit to the public in the sense that this is a waste product, CO2, that the company wants to get rid of and dump in Central Illinois,” Harant said.
She is also worried about public safety, as a pipeline rupture could cause devastating results. She brought up an example of the 2020 pipeline rupture in Satartia, Miss.
Tazewell County board member David Zimmerman said that while the board can take a stance on the project, it won’t hold sway over whether the project will happen.
As for Wolf Carbon Solutions, they provided WMBD with a recent statement.
“Central Illinois is home to one of the world’s most prolific geological formations that allows for CO2 to be safely and permanently stored deep underground. The Mt. Simon Hub is a world-class carbon capture and storage system that would harness the full potential of this area to help achieve regional, national, and global carbon reduction goals through industrial decarbonization.”
Wolf Carbon Solutions also pointed out the job creation aspect of the project and that their goal is to not use eminent domain.
