DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Lake Decatur is the city's primary water source. The City of Decatur approved a 99-year easement with ADM to permanently store carbon dioxide beneath the lake.
Dozens of Decatur residents gathered during a community forum Monday night to express their concerns to city council members.
"Everybody in this room will be affected if there is a problem with this," one Decatur resident said.
Carbon sequestration helps fight global warming by taking carbon dioxide that would be pumped into the air and trapping it deep underground. In 2024, ADM was investigated by the EPA for a leak at one of its carbon sequestration wells in Decatur. But the City of Decatur didn't find out about it until a year later.
"It's scary they're playing with fire and playing with our lives," another resident said.
Councilman David Horn said if the city had known about the leak, the council may not have approved the easement.
"Had I known that there was a leak in March of 2024, I would have had a different view than I had in March of 2023. And I'm concerned for that. There would be at least several other council members that would have changed their vote," Horn said.
Broadwing Energy is a new gas-fueled low-carbon power plant which will supply electricity to Google and ADM. Johnathan Wiens is a company executive who said CO2 beneath Lake Decatur will not harm the environment.
"This part of the country was chosen because it can be done safely. And it's been proven to do that. So, it's a fantastic opportunity for the community. The injection of fluids into the earth has been done by hundreds of thousands of wells every day across the country. And it's done safely," Wiens said.
However, residents strongly disagree, with many demanding that the city council terminate the easement with ADM.
"Get this agreement annulled because it should never have happened. It was done [unethically], and I would even say fraudulently," one resident said.
Many residents were concerned about potential earthquakes.
"You create the possibility of having more earthquakes. And if you have enough earthquakes and they're strong enough, it'll break the dam. And we got nothing," another resident said.
The economic impact is small. Decatur would get roughly $12,000 per year from the 99-year, $1.2 million deal.
ADM is expected to have a forum inside the sequestration center at Richland Community College at 4 p.m. on Jan. 28.
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