WABASH COUNTY — A moratorium on carbon sequestration activities in the community has now received a favorable recommendation from the Wabash County Plan Commission.
The unanimous vote came Thursday evening immediately following a public hearing in the auditorium of Northfield High School.
The recommendation moves now to the Wabash County Commissioners for their consideration. According to Wabash County Commissioner Cheryl Ross, Dist. 1, she hopes to have a moratorium vote on the commissioner’s agenda for their May 19 meeting.
A moratorium prohibits certain activities for a specific period of time before laws or ordinances are finalized.
The Wabash County Plan Commission and Wabash County Board of Commissioners work in conjunction, in a series of checks and balances, establishing ordinances for projects involving land use – public or private. Ultimately, it would be the commissioners’ votes deciding moratoriums and plan commission creating ordinances regarding the issue of carbon sequestration.
Prior to Thursday’s vote, a half dozen local citizens voiced their opinion in favor of a moratorium during the public hearing. A lone voice in opposition was offered by POET Biorefining Senior Manager of Government Affairs Matt Ward. His statement was met with jeers from the audience of approximately 100 in attendance.
Such public outcry regarding the controversial topic comes after Wabash County farmers were approached by North Manchester-based POET to potentially lease their land for carbon sequestration storage.
POET is seeking to lease farmland within 0.6-mile radius of their facility. Company officials said the project is slated to last 12 years and pump 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually into the ground.
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing CO2 from the atmosphere and other sources. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gases and slow climate change. POET is a company specializing in the production of biofuels, primarily bioethanol, making it one of the world’s largest producer of renewable energy sources. Company executives seek to remove CO2 from the fermentation process of creating ethanol from corn.
Carbon sequestration is typically stored by injecting CO2 deep underground into porous rock formations where the CO2 is compressed into a liquid-like state and trapped within the rock layers, effectively removing it from the atmosphere. POET has partnered with Canadian-based Vault 44.01, which specializes with the implementation of such a process.
Criticisms of carbon sequestration include: its high cost; lack of proven effectiveness at scale; potential for leaks from storage sites; concerns about the technology being used to prolong fossil fuel use rather than transitioning to cleaner energy; and the potential for negative environmental impacts on nearby communities due to the process of capturing and transporting CO2.
“We don’t need to be putting anything into the ground,” said Dave Cummings, a Wabash County resident who spoke during the public hearing. “I want to leave something for my children and grandchildren.”
The audience applauded Cummings’ comment.
Countering Cummings and other’s concerns was Ward, who assured the audience his company had the community’s best interests in mind. He added environmental agencies would closely monitor their carbon sequestration. And full transparency with the community was paramount to their company.
Craig Hall, mechanical engineer and vice president of project development for Vault 44.01, has said on record carbon sequestration is safe.
“The wells (the carbon goes into) have multiple layers and are closely monitored for fissures (cracks),” Hall said.