IFB: Protections Fall Short in Carbon Capture, Pipeline Bill
“While the bill included some positive protections for landowners, they pale in comparison to the negative impacts this legislation has on the property rights of farmers and landowners.”
Legislation establishing state regulations around carbon capture and sequestration projects, including a moratorium on pipeline construction, is set to become Illinois law.
Senate Bill 1289, or the “Safety and Aid for the Environment in Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act,” (CCS) passed the Illinois House on a 78-29 vote and the Illinois Senate on a 43-12 vote during the final days of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring legislative session.
Gov. JB Pritzker in a May 26 statement said he would sign the bill, explaining it sets “nation-leading safety and environmental standards” around CCS “while bringing thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in investment in Illinois.”
Opposed to the legislation, Illinois Farm Bureau staff testified against the bill during a House Energy & Environment Committee hearing on May 24 and again in the Senate Executive Committee the next day.
“While the bill included some positive protections for landowners, they pale in comparison to the negative impacts this legislation has on the property rights of farmers and landowners,” IFB President Brian Duncan said of the organization’s position.
“SB 1289 does not align with Illinois Farm Bureau policy, erodes private property rights and could create situations where landowners, forced to participate in carbon dioxide storage areas without their consent, receive reduced, or possibly no, compensation for the use of their property,” Duncan said.
He added that although IFB supports the concept of CCS and recognizes its potential to reduce carbon emissions from fertilizer and ethanol plants, the organization also firmly believes the technology should not come at the significant expense of private property rights.
Other opponents to the bill included the Illinois Soybean Association, while support came from Illinois Corn Growers Association and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), the only Illinois entity to hold a federal permit allowing CO2 injection.
ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson in a statement to FarmWeek said infrastructure like pipelines will be required to open up new markets to Illinois-made ethanol and sustainable aviation fuels and will need to comply with state and federal regulations.
“This legislation is a starting point, not an end point, in realizing the enormous economic and environmental opportunity before the state,” Anderson said.
Anchoring IFB’s opposition to the bill is a provision that allows CCS and carbon dioxide pipeline companies to forcibly acquire and integrate pore space from some landowners impacted by a proposed project.
Specifically, the legislation would permit a CCS project owner to integrate landowners representing up to 25% of the storage area who do not agree to project terms, so long as surface rights from landowners representing the other 75% have been obtained.
Although the bill requires “just compensation” for landowners representing 25% of the storage area who reject participation in a CCS project, IFB believes the payments will be less than those received by complying landowners because they will not include financial offers made to landowners prior to injection.
Asked about the integration process, Anderson said ADM views the legislation as a “baseline requirement” and the company’s “commitment to voluntary buy-in has not changed.”
“We believe critics of CCS have created a false choice between landowner rights and decarbonization,” Anderson noted in the statement. “We can do both, and we must prioritize both, and we absolutely believe that landowners are entitled to just compensation for pore space.”
The bill further maintains the Illinois Commerce Commission’s ability to grant eminent domain authority for CO2 pipelines, another departure from IFB policy.
Additional items in the legislation include a moratorium on new CO2 pipeline construction in Illinois until after the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration adopts final safety rules around CO2 pipelines, or July 1, 2026, whichever comes first
Companies looking to establish a CCS project would also need to obtain a permit for CO2 sequestration from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, in addition to federal permits.
Sequestration site operators would further be required to hold an insurance policy of at least $25 million and pay an annual per-ton fee for carbon stored. The fee starts at either 31 cents or 62 cents per ton of CO2 injected annually depending on project-labor agreements, and rates would increase each year based on inflation.
Revenue generated from the fees will be distributed across several funds to cover costs associated with administering the regulations as well as training and other support for local emergency services and disaster agencies.
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