Vigo, Vermilion County residents pack room opposing carbon storage project

More than 160 residents packed a room in Terre Haute on Thursday to oppose a state pilot project that would store carbon dioxide emissions underground.

The Environmental Protection Agency drafted a permit to allow Wabash Valley Resources to inject the CO2 in wells in Vigo and Vermillion counties.

Among other concerns, residents worry the project could trigger an earthquake. It’s close to fault lines and abandoned mines. They also worry the CO2 could leak or migrate — risking the health of people and livestock.

A pipeline carrying CO2 in Mississippi ruptured and put more than 40 people in the hospital. Resident Benjamin Lenderman wants to know how the agency will keep kids at nearby Fayette Elementary safe.

"Are we going to provide oxygen masks to the children? Are we going to have those things available in case there is an emergency? What safety protocols are in place for the kids?" he said.

The EPA said it doesn’t oversee those pipelines, but that the gas will be injected so far in the ground that it's unlikely to leak or migrate. It also said the fault lines are north of the site and that the risk of an earthquake is low.

Marc Fisher works for EPA Region 5’s water division.

“We were satisfied that the carbon dioxide is going to stay where it’s injected, otherwise we would have denied it," he said.

The EPA would monitor the project for 12 years. Carbon capture and storage hasn’t been proven at this scale.

READ MORE: Landowners find compromise in bill on carbon storage pilot program, safety concerns remain

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Wabash Valley Resources got permission to do the project as part of a state pilot program four years ago. The company has lobbied for multiple bills in an effort to relieve it of liability.

If the company can’t get a permit from the EPA in five years, a recent state law would kill the pilot.

Local landowner Bill Wilson said he’s one of the reasons the project has been held up.

“I think we got it clear, you’re not putting it on my property. I don’t know where you’re going to put it at now, but it ain’t going to be on my property," he said.

The public comment period for the injection well permit for Wabash Valley Resources is open until midnight on Friday, Aug. 11. Several residents asked that the EPA extend it and hold more public hearings.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.

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