DECATUR- Agribusiness giant ADM is responding after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found last week that the company violated federal regulations, a federal permit and the Safe Drinking Water Act earlier this year when a monitoring well at their carbon sequestration site in Decatur leaked liquified carbon dioxide into “unauthorized zones.”
ADM says it has safely operated CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) wells in Decatur for more than a decade and that it is aiming to advance this technology with the input, guidance, and expertise of other entities including the EPA.
“Our CCS operation has extensive monitoring in place to ensure that we promptly detect, address, and learn from any developments,” a spokesperson said in a statement to IPM news.
“We detected some corrosion in a section of one of two deep monitoring wells at approximately 5,000 feet and below. That monitoring well was plugged, is not in use, and none of the other wells were impacted.”
ADM also said that there was “no impact to the surface or groundwater sources or any threat to public health”. Furthermore, the company said this development was reported to the EPA and it looking to working closely with the EPA on this issue.
At the Decatur city council meeting Monday, some council members criticized the company for a lack of transparency and said the violations highlight the major issues with storing carbon underground. However, councilman Chuck Kuhle said to wait for an investigation before drawing conclusions.
“Let’s wait and see what happens. And I’m sure there’s going to be investigations, Let’s find out. Maybe ADM did something wrong, I don’t know,” he added. “Let’s just wait and see. Instead, we’re just throwing our biggest employer under the bus. I get tired of it.”
IPM News’ Anulika Ochuba contributed to this report.