Tell your elected officials ...
We need a Mahomet Aquifer Sequestration Ban!
Andrew Rehn, Prairie Rivers Network and Pam Richart, Eco-Justice Collaborative were invited by WCIA's Cole Henke, to discuss the importance of the Mahomet Aquifer and need for a sequestration ban. Listen to this short interview, then sign our petition below. We plan to deliver this petition, with all the signatures we collect, to state senators and representatives in the coming months.
Sign our Petition! Add your voice today
Thirteen years ago, the Mahomet Aquifer was threatened by the storage of toxic waste in the Clinton Landfill, located over the Mahomet Aquifer in DeWitt County. But counties and municipalities organized to protect it from manufactured gas plant (MGP) waste and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) waste. They:
- Obtained a sole source aquifer designation from the U.S. EPA, which acknowledges its significance as a local water supply that must be protected.
- Passed a consent decree and convinced legislators to pass legislation (House Bill 1326) to further protect the Mahomet from these toxic wastes.
Then, in 2016 near Fisher Illinois, an injection well leaked methane into the Mahomet Aquifer from a gas storage facility owned by People's Gas. The gas contaminated wells as far away as Mahomet (the city). After eight years and with millions of dollars spent on the design of a new water supply, affected residents still rely on bottled water for daily use.
Today, the Mahomet Aquifer is facing another threat. Injection of CO2 through, and storage under the aquifer has been proposed in seven locations. If it leaks, it can leach toxic metals from rock formations that can cause acute and chronic toxicity, liver, kidney, and intestinal damage, anemia, and cancer.
Once again, your help is needed to keep the aquifer safe. Tell your elected officials we need to a Mahomet Aquifer Sequestration Ban!
Why to we need a ban?
The Illinois Basin has been determined by scientists to be one of the best locations for geologic sequestration. Fueled by the IRS tax credit known as 45Q, private companies are planning to capture, transport, and store their CO2 waste in Illinois. But there are NO guarantees that highly pressurized carbon stored underground won't leak into aquifers, threatening water supplies. This includes the Mahomet Aquifer. If it does leak, CO2 will form carbonic acid that can leach heavy metals from surrounding sand and rock that include: that include: arsenic, antimony, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, selenium and many more from rocks. People that consume high levels of heavy metals risk acute and chronic toxicity, liver, kidney, and intestinal damage, anemia, and cancer.
Learn more about the threat to the aquifer here ...
