Why Pritzker holds 'degree of skepticism' on new carbon capture bill
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Illinois is attempting to completely decarbonize energy production by 2045, and, without carbon capture storage, advocates say it will be hard-pressed to meet that goal.
Several Democrat lawmakers, along with a selection of business and agriculture groups, are putting their weight behind recently introduced carbon capture storage legislation.
The Climate and Landowner Protection Act, its language contained in Senate Bill 3311 and House Bill 569, specifically targets the usage and ownership of pore space — empty underground areas between sand and sediment — plus creates new sources of funding for first responders.
"With this legislation, we can decarbonize without deindustrializing our state," said Illinois Manufacturers' Association president and CEO Mark Denzler during a press conference Wednesday.
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Climate Jobs Illinois also supports the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago and Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea.
Sierra Club of Illinois however says the legislation is too limited, focusing solely on sequestration, and is instead backing legislation that would regulate CO2 pipelines and prohibit the use of eminent domain.
Denzler contended pipeline regulation is a federal matter for the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, currently crafting updated rules following a 2020 pipeline burst in Satartia, Mississippi causing over 40 people hospitalizations and more than 200 evacuations.
The bill would clarify that the owner of the surface estate would also own the beneath pore space, but would still allow for easements of the property. Securing easements proved to be difficult for the now cancelled Navigator Heartland Greenway — only receiving 13.4% of easements to construct its pipeline.
Local municipalities would also be eligible for grant funding, calculated by 1 cent for every ton of carbon dioxide injected into a sequestration facility for each fiscal year. The money could be used to cover emergency response plan expenses along with the purchase of new equipment.
Having funds to purchase new equipment, particularly electric vehicles, has been of particular importance to the Sangamon County Board who previously approved a moratorium on CO2 pipeline sequestration projects. Local officials have said EVs will be necessary in the case of a pipeline burst since gas-powered vehicles cannot start without oxygen.
Asked by reporters at an unrelated press conference, Gov. JB Pritzker said he had not yet reviewed the legislation. Essential to its passage, he said, were ensuring that business and landowner perspectives are represented.
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"We're going to be working through how if he would, we would implement carbon capture in the state of Illinois," he said at the governor's office. "Is it going to be safe for people who are living in areas where carbon capture will be taking place? How would we implement it to make sure that in the construction of that, that it would be safe?"
Despite being seen as a prime geologic region for carbon capture, projects have struggled to gain footing in Illinois.
Both Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions LLC pulled applications with the Illinois Commerce Commission last year, with Navigator ultimately cancelling its 1,350-mile pipeline. The ICC is currently reviewing a much smaller scale project in Ford and McLean counties.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Pritzker holds 'degree of skepticism' on carbon capture bill
