By Valerie Volcovici and Leah Douglas
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that Archer-Daniels-Midland violated federal safe drinking water rules and its underground injection permit with a leak at the first major U.S. underground carbon storage facility in Illinois, the agribusiness company confirmed on Friday.
The Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Project aims to demonstrate that carbon dioxide can be safely stored underground.
The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act expanded tax credits for CCS projects from $50 per ton to $85, creating more interest in these projects.
In an August 14 letter to ADM, the EPA said a July inspection of the site found that carbon dioxide injected into the subsurface flowed into “unauthorized areas” and that the company had failed to implement an emergency response and to follow and/or supervise the recovery plan. the well in accordance with the permit.
Leaks through fractures in the rock layers or through injection can contaminate both the soil and the groundwater in the vicinity of the storage location.
ADM responded to the EPA’s notice on Aug. 22, saying it had discovered some corrosion in one of the two deep monitoring wells and had subsequently shut it down and reported it to the agency, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.
“At no time was there any impact to surface or groundwater resources or any threat to public health,” ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson said in a statement.
“We remain confident in the safety, security and effectiveness of CCS as a greenhouse gas mitigation technology and its potential to bring new industries and economic opportunities to the entire state of Illinois.”
The carbon capture industry trade group said the incident showed the monitoring system for CO2 injections was working.
“We look forward to learning more about the best practices that ADM and EPA have identified in response to this incident,” said Jessie Stolark, Executive Director of Carbon Capture Coalition.
Food & Water Watch policy director Jim Walsh said this underlines local communities’ concerns about the safety of the practice.