This press statement was originally distributed by our coalition partners at Louisiana Against False Solutions.
The injection of carbon dioxide at a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Decatur, Illinois, has been paused after yet another underground leak was detected on Wednesday, September 24. This leak demonstrates the danger and failure of these false solutions.
Prior to the most recent incident, in August 2024, the U.S. EPA had already determined that agribusiness corporation Archer-Daniels-Midland violated Safe Drinking Water Act regulations and the terms of its Class VI Underground Injection Control Permit when at least 8,000 metric tons of liquified carbon dioxide leaked from a monitoring well at its injection facility in Decatur, Illinois, into “unauthorized zones.” The leak was detected in March 2024 at an Archer-Daniels-Midland carbon capture and storage facility that injects compressed and liquified CO2 emissions from a nearby industrial processing facility — also owned by Archer-Daniels-Midland — for storage underground. The EPA also noted that the company failed to follow proper emergency response and remediation procedures in response to the leak.
ADM’s industrial carbon capture and storage facility is the largest facility of its kind and holds one of the only Class VI permits for injection wells in the country that is actually in operation. The leaks are the most recent example of the failed promises of unproven and unsafe carbon capture use and storage projects and the extremely high risks they pose to surrounding communities. It demonstrates, too, the failure of the existing regulatory framework that could neither prevent the leak nor ensure that responsible actions were taken to protect residents in an emergency.
Though the well has been capped, and EPA has proposed an enforcement order requiring compliance measures and remedial actions, officials still have not been able to determine with certainty the extent of the harm caused by the leak or the impact on the Mahomet Aquifer, which provides 58 million gallons of water daily to half a million people in 14 counties in east central Illinois.
Since 2011, the Archer-Daniels-Midland corporation has received at least $281 million in federal tax dollars for carbon capture and storage projects but is failing to deliver on its promises of annual emissions stored and of safety. Yet, they are looking to benefit further from expanded 45Q tax credits that are paid to companies per ton of carbon dioxide stored. But these federal expenditures will only grow the profits of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry while communities on the frontlines of these projects stand to lose.
As long as the federal government incentivizes corporations to build irresponsible carbon capture and storage infrastructure, they will do so — there is no shortage of planned pipelines or injection wells, and no sign that industries are pivoting to better or safer technology any time soon. Wherever they are built, the health and safety of communities in their way will always be second to the financial well-being of the fossil fuel industry. Instead of actually delivering on promised jobs and growth, these regions are relentlessly polluted and burdened with public health crises and the costs of cleaning up someone else’s mess.
A government that puts the health of its citizens and their environment above all else would surely recognize that the status quo cannot stand and begin looking immediately for a better alternative. Instead, industry-backed legislation at the state level is seeking to legitimize these unsafe and unreliable carbon capture and storage technologies, with no plan in place to upgrade regulations to improve transparency and accountability or to better ensure the safety of our water, air, and soil. Nor are there any plans to address gaps in local governance: the emergency responders and local officials have not been trained to deal with the risk of a massive CO2 leak or to disseminate accurate information to residents quickly. Without these measures, this is just another corporate handout.
In many parts of the country, the same communities targeted for carbon capture and storage infrastructure are also battered by extreme storms and hurricanes, which heightens the threat of double disasters from chemical pollution during flooding. These communities deserve investments in real solutions that prioritize their health and safety and address sources of legacy pollution. Safe, effective, and proven ways to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions already exist the can be deployed now, and these are the only investments any government should be making in our communities.
Louisiana Against False Solutions Coalition stands in solidarity with Decatur, and with every community that has been harmed by, or is scheduled to be harmed by, these dangerous, useless, and expensive carbon capture and storage technologies. We assert that every community has a right to safety, clean drinking water, and freedom from fear and risk. We demand that federal, state, and local officials and governments take immediate action to stop these hazardous projects and every harm they have brought to our communities in the name of enriching the fossil fuel industry.
Louisiana Against False Solutions (LAFS) is a coalition of more than 20 organizations leading in Louisiana and nationally for environmental, racial, and social justice. LAFS includes expertise across a range of disciplines: law, environmental science, geology, steel and materials scientists, traditional and Indigenous knowledge-holders, experienced campaigners, fisherfolk, and frontline communities. Learn more at https://www.lagainstfalsesolutions.org
Media Contacts
Catalina Gonzalez
Senior Policy Analyst, The Center for Progressive Reform
cgonzalez@progressivereform.org
Darryl Malek-Wiley
Senior Field Representative, Sierra Club
darryl.malek-wiley@sierraclub.org
