Unsafe, Untested, Unnecessary
Central Illinois is ground zero for the nation's CO2 waste. hundreds of miles of proposed high-pressure CO2 pipelines end under the Mahomet Aquifer, which provides sole source water for 1 million residents.
Our nation can do better than throwing billions of tax dollars at big energy companies. Their dangerous pipelines will cross Illinois’s best farmland, and be too close to people. Our Mahomet Aquifer is not the dump site for their waste. The best way to reduce CO2 is not to produce it in the first place. Read on!
Carbon Capture and Storage is the process of capturing CO2 from energy production or manufacturing, condensing it under high pressure to a supercritical state for transport via pipelines, and then pumping it deep underground for storage.
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CCS is being promoted as a climate-saving endeavor, but this is far from true. The processes involved in capturing, compressing, transporting, and storing CO2 are energy-intensive. The 42 operational CCS projects worldwide have the capacity to store 0.13% of the CO2 produced ANNUALLY. In order to do even that, 40% more energy is required to capture, transport, and store CO2, and the process also increases other greenhouse gasses, particulate pollutants, and heavy metals. CCS isn’t the answer; getting off fossil fuels altogether is.​​
WHAT CCS & FRACKING HAVE IN COMMON
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Fracking was designed to get more production out of oil and gas wells. CO2 has, to date, been used primarily for enhanced oil recovery.
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Both have been largely unregulated or weakly regulated industries.
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Both fail to lower greenhouse gases on any kind of scale that would impact climate change.
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Both have a high propensity for leaks which pose threats to life, health, and drinking water supplies.
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Both have increased pollution in environmental justice communities where most of the energy production or manufacturing related to them occurs.
Everyday people are fighting back
IPA staff and leaders began discussions on organizing against CCS in January 2022. We joined the newly forming Illinois Coalition to Stop CO2 pipelines and held strategy meetings with interested leaders on the proposed Navigator and Wolf pipelines. As CCS operations started to show up in IPA members’ communities, the Board and members voted to adopt a fight against CCS as a formal campaign. The campaign was a natural outgrowth of our organizing against fracking in 2012-2015, as both CCS and fracking are false solutions and have a number of commonalities.
State of Play
IPA members strategized to fight at the local, state and national levels—working for bans and moratoriums where it was possible and for strong regulations if bans and moratoriums weren’t possible. IPA leaders led educational events and community meetings on the issue throughout downstate Illinois, meeting with elected officials onin our home turf and during lobby days at the State Capitol. We brought Matthew Tejada, the Environmental Justice Director of the federal EPA, to Peoria to encourage EPA action to protect Environmental Justice (EJ) communities and the Mahomet Aquifer, Illinois’ largest aquifer—and the only Illinois aquifer with the EPA’s designation of being a sole-source aquifer. The Mahomet provides drinking water to a million downstate residents.
When One Earth applied for a “Special Use Permit” to sequester (store) waste CO2 in the recharge area of the Mahomet Aquifer in McLean County, IPA leaders organized to turn dozens of leaders out to six public hearings in McLean County. IPA leaders provided most of the opposition testimony. The McLean County Board, composed of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, voted unanimously to deny the permit with one abstention. One Earth has stated that it will reapply. IPA leaders are ready.
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At the statewide level, IPA leaders lobbied for a moratorium and passage of a strict regulatory bill. Like fracking, most of our leaders do not believe that CCS can be made safe through regulations but they do believe it can be made safer. Right now, there are very few regulations on the industry. The legislation we supported would have required a ban on CCS activities in EJ communities and through or under the Mahomet Aquifer and its recharge areas. It would also have mandated 2-mile setbacks which would provide critical time for residents to evacuate in the case of an emergency. Those protections were negotiated away during the Governor’s bill compromise. IPA did not support the final legislation.
Our fight to protect Illinois residents and our primary downstate water supply from Carbon Capture and Storage continues. We are currently preparing for EPA hearings on One Earth which we anticipate in the fall of 2024. If you are interested in getting involved in this campaign, please contact the IPA office.
Our Work
COVID/Racial Justice/Climate
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Working at the intersection of the COVID-19 economic crisis, racial injustice and the environment to pass legislation at the state and federal levels that will use a green energy economy with racial equity at its core to get us out of the economic downturn caused by the COVID crisis.
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On the state level, IPA leaders and staff have been involved in every level to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), including holding listening sessions with the public to include their priorities in the bill, writing portions of the bill, negotiating the bill, and educating both the public and elected officials on the bill, and working toward its passage.
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On the federal level, organizing to pass legislation similar to CEJA, whether that is the Green New Deal or THRIVE. Again, leaders have been involved from the earliest stages of legislation development.
Additional Climate Work
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Fracking: We continue to keep our eye on fracking, organizing to keep gas buildout out of any state climate legislation. This builds on our past working which includes getting a fracking transparency bill through the Senate in 2018 before it was sidelined in the House, stopping Woolsey’s attempt to have the first high volume horizontal fracking well in the state, preventing fracking above the Mahomet aquifer which provides drinking water to 850,000 central Illinoisans, and spearheading a campaign that resulted in 36,000 comments to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on a fracking regulatory bill which resulted in a 400+ day moratorium.
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ALEC anti-protest bill: Each year for the last several years, we have been involved in fighting ALEC-sponsored anti-protest legislation. These bills would restrict our right to engage in environmental protests.
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Climate Crisis Mitigation: Our individual chapters are working locally to mitigate the effects of pollution and the Climate Crisis.
Immigrant Rights
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We organized the “Keeping Families Together” coalition and campaign which won a “Welcoming City” ordinance in Normal in 2018. Over 800 folks have participated in public rallies, actions, hearings and demonstrations in this campaign. This work continues.
Predatory Lending
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VICTORY! After more than 15 years of direct action organizing we WON interest rate caps on consumer loans in IL. Payday and Car Title lending averaged interest rates of over 250% APR keeping low wage working families in long-term, high-cost debt. In 2019, over 400,000 families were trapped in these predatory loans. IPA was invited to the Governor's signing ceremony and received an honorary signing pen in recognition for our work (March 2021).
Past Campaigns & Wins
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“Mothballed” fracking in our state for 8 years by securing 36,-000 comments to IDNR thereby creating a 400+ day moratorium during which time the bottom fell out of the market.
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Prevented oil fracking next to our Mahomet Aquifer which provides water to 850,000 residents.
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With Fair Economy Illinois (FEI), passed legislation that will raise $125 million by closing corporate loopholes.
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Secured evening bus service in Springfield, which provides public transportation to low income, seniors, individuals with disabilities and also the environmentally minded.
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Won a Living Wage referendum in Bloomington.
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Helped family farms and farm communities protect their livelihood from mega-farm interests.
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Saved 500 families from foreclosure through safe, sound and affordable refinancing and spearheaded a court sponsored foreclosure mediation program.
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Increased community reinvestment through challenges under the CRA law.
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Won driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants in Illinois helping create safe roads and drivers.