Big Wins for Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines!
Grassroots Pressure Helps Stop Wolf and Navigator CO2 Pipelines
In a stunning set of victories and a tribute to the power of everyday people working together, Eco-Justice Collaborative is pleased to announce that two dangerous CO2 pipelines proposed for Illinois have been stopped, at least for now.

Last month, Navigator CO2 Ventures formally abandoned its plans to construct a 1,342 mile CO2 pipeline carrying high pressure CO2 from five states for underground injection in central Illinois.

Then, on November 20th, Wolf Carbon Solutions LLC notified the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) that it was temporarily withdrawing its application to construct a 300-mile pipeline through nine Illinois counties. That pipeline would carry high pressure CO2 destined for underground storage in Macon County. Wolf has indicated that intends to refile with the ICC early in 2024.

Organizing Works!
The Wolf and Navigator decisions followed nearly two years of organized opposition from the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, a working group of the Downstate Caucus of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. This Coalition was co-founded and is being led by Eco-Justice Collaborative. The Wolf and Navigator projects, along with others like them, are part of a nation-wide plan heavily supported by the oil and gas industry to address global warming by capturing industrial carbon emissions and disposing of them deep underground. In concept, CCS sounds like it is a ready-solution to our climate crisis. In reality, it has never been tested at the scale proposed, and brings with it many unanswered questions and concerns, ranging from public safety, property rights, long-term leakage, and net effectiveness to the lack of feasibility without massive public subsidies. Most disturbingly it continues our reliance on fossil fuels.

Over the last two years, EJC and other members of the Coalition have worked tirelessly attending township and county board meetings, educating the public and elected officials through presentations and webinars.  The Coalition fostered the formation of landowner groups who pooled their resources to hire an attorney to represent them before for the Illinois Commerce Commission. EJC also has participated in a national working group challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ expedited permitting of the projects, circumventing the requirement for a full environmental impact assessment of pipeline infrastructure and meaningful public engagement in the decision-making process.

Another Pipeline?
As the Coalition celebrates its victory over Wolf and Navigator, it expects Wolf to return for a second try, even as other pipelines are zeroing in on Illinois. OneEarth Energy recently proposed a  third pipeline serving an ethanol plant in Gibson City and has made clear plans to aggressively expand to other parts of the state.

There are plans to construct over 65,000 miles of CO2 pipeline throughout the Midwest (NOTE: The Department of Energy says this will be closer to 96,000 miles, taking into consideration more realistic diameters of these hazardous carbon pipelines.) Some of these will carry CO2 from the process of making blue hydrogen, now planned for Illinois. The fight is far from over!