Rally at the Lincoln Statue at the state capitol on Environmental Lobby Day, May 9, 2024. Photo: Joyce Blumenshine

By Joyce Blumenshine

Thanks to all who phoned state legislators, emailed, wrote, attended a lobby day, or in other ways helped on environmental protection legislation in Springfield! While the much-needed Wetlands Protection legislation was stalled, the SAFE CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) Act was passed by the Legislature. The bill is significant in setting up regulations requiring water use assessment and other reports before state permits can be issued. Companies will have all liability for sites, with 30 years for post-injection monitoring required.  A Moratorium on CO2 pipelines is included until July 1, 2026, or the U. S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issues updated regulations, which could be much sooner.

While a lot was accomplished by this legislation, some key concerns could not be included. There are no specific protections on aquifers, including the Mahomet Aquifer. Farmers and other property owners are very upset that there are no new protections or restrictions on eminent domain. The bill was a negotiated bill which would not allow certain matters such as aquifer exemptions and eminent domain, as both industry and environmental concerns had proposed their versions, which differed greatly.

The Governor’s Office wrote a bill that could move forward. Our thanks go to Governor Pritzker and his staff for new protections for Illinois! We are only the second state in the nation to have such legislation!  More information is available on the Energy News Network website.