McLean County Times

McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals met Oct. 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

1. CALL TO ORDER: Chair, James Finnigan called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

2. ROLL CALL: Secretary Philip Dick called the roll and noted the presence of a quorum as follows: James Finnigan, Michael Kuritz, Ruth Novosad, Brian Bangert, Julia Turner, Rick Dean and Shirley Deerwester. No members were absent. Also present were Darrell Mitchell, Zoning Enforcement Officer, Taylor Williams, Assistant State’s Attorney, Trevor Sierra, Chief Civil Assistant State’s Attorney, Cassy Taylor, County Administrator, and Anthony Grant, Assistant County Administrator.

3. APPEARANCE BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: No one came forward to speak on matters not on the agenda.

4. REGULAR AGENDA:

Case ZA-23-04, an application of the McLean County Land Use & Development Committee in case ZA-23-04. This is a text amendment of the Zoning Ordinance of the Code of McLean County Chapter 350, Zoning Section 350-43. OO. Use Standards. This is to amend use standards for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Sequestration Drilling.

Secretary Dick called the case, provided exhibits to the board, and submitted a staff report for review. He indicated that the proposed amendment came from the McLean County Land Use and Development Committee following discussion at its September 5, 2023 Committee meeting. The Committee previously proposed a text amendment on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Sequestration at its meeting on April 4, 2023, which the County Board approved on May 11, 2023, in case ZA-23-03. The Chair of the Committee formed and met several times with a study group composed of staff and County Board members to determine how McLean County should regulate the drilling of CO2 sequestration wells.

Secretary Dick Indicated staff recommends that the proposed text amendment be approved and that it will promote public health, safety, comfort, morals, and general welfare, conserving the value of property throughout the County.

Lea Cline, 931 McArthur St., Bloomington, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. Dr. Cline indicated that she is the chair of the McLean County Land Use and Development Committee and explained the process and the meetings that led up to the September 5 Committee meeting where the proposed text amendment was discussed and approved. She indicated that part of the purpose of these meetings was to obtain an understanding of the County’s legal rights to regulate CO2 Sequestration Drilling and how the County may intervene for health and safety. She indicated that funding has been included in the 2024 budget to intervene in cases where sequestration wells would go through the Mahomet Aquifer. She indicated that setbacks were picked to provide safe distance from various structures including during construction. Setbacks were proposed to provide safety and that guidelines from the Emergency Management Agency were consulted. Dr. Cline indicated that the setbacks in the draft of House Bill 3119 were even greater than those proposed in this application.

Don Carlson, 208 Kreitzer Ave., Bloomington, IL asked what the navigator offer was. Dr. Cline indicated that it was $29 million over 30 years. She said that the County never responded to that request.

Joyce Harant, 3914, North Donna Lane, Peoria, IL asked what the proposed setback would be. Secretary Dick read the 1,500 feet language from the text amendment.

Tyler Young, 40563 E 1400 North Rd., Saybrook, IL asked if they had met with any other companies other than Navigator. Dr. Cline said that Navigator was the only company that they met with but that they met with the Farm Bureau, Eco Justice, and she listed several other groups that they met with.

Alan Sharples, 1501 Donegal, Normal, IL asked if there had been any CO2 well explosions. And he asked what the well and pipeline pressure was. Dr. Cline indicated that there had been no well explosions and that she did not have information on the pressure.

William Rau, 3715 Wine Way, Bloomington, IL asked about the Mississippi explosion. Dr. Cline indicated that it was a pipeline failure and not a well explosion.

Don Carlson, 208 Kreitzer Ave., Bloomington, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. He submitted an exhibit that he reviewed. Secretary Dick labeled this as Objector’s Exhibit 1. Mr. Carlson said he is the executive director of Illinois Peoples Action (IPA). He gave information on the Navigator Emergency Response Plan and said that an emergency plan needs to be part of this text amendment. Mr. Carlson stated that the Navigator pipeline application has been withdrawn but not its application for sequestration wells. He said that the text amendment should prohibit going through the Mahomet Aquifer and that it should be sent back to the Land Use Committee.

Elizabeth Kosuth, 3103 Preston Dr., Bloomington, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. She indicated that she works at ISU, is a member of IPA and is concerned of damage to the Mahomet Aquifer. She is concerned that CO2 will cause significant health problems and death. She indicated that this text amendment should be sent back to get more robust language to protect the safety of the public.

Steve Whittaker, 208 W. Indiana Ave., Urbana, IL asked where the results can be found of the modeling that she mentioned. Ms. Kosuth indicated that she did not have that information.

Julie Prandi, 905 N. Evans, Bloomington, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. Ms. Prandi said that she is with IPA and stated that the well permits for Navigator are still active. She indicated that accidental leaks happened. She gave several examples of gas leaks that caused damage to the water supply and that this leakage is similar to leaks of CO2. She said that assurance is necessary that if leakage occurs, remediation will take place.

Susan Adams, 1659 2500 Street, Atlanta, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. Ms. Adams provided an exhibit that she reviewed. Secretary Dick labeled this as Objector’s Exhibit 2. She indicated that she and John farm 300 acres in McLean County, that they farm and live within the sequestration footprint, and that they use no till farming. She said that she has been a member of the Mahomet Acquirer Consortium since 2005 and has been chairman/president since 2021. She requested that no drilling of CO2 wells should be located above or next to the Mahomet Aquifer.

Tyler Young, 40563 E 1400 North Rd., Saybrook, IL asked how they use cover crops and no-till and if that equates to a zero-carbon footprint. Susan Adams indicated that they use cover crops and no-till farming and that their farm has a very low carbon footprint.

Lance Rogers, 204 Parkway Dr., Eureka, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. He indicated that he is the 8th generation that has farmed his family’s land in Logan and McLean Counties. He indicated that he has signed up with his neighbors 10,000 acres for the sequestration area for the Navigator project. He said that his farm would have 2 injection wells and one monitoring well; one injection well would be in McLean County and one injection well and one monitoring well would be in Logan County. He requests no setback or to allow relevant property owners to waive the setback requirement. He said that he has read and studied the more than 100-page regulation for Class VI Wells. He said that he understands safety issues and worked with Navigator to site the wells. He explained safety measures that would be in place on his proposed site. Mr. Rogers indicated that the dwelling in Mclean County would not be affected by the setback distance but that the dwelling in Logan County is 950 feet from the proposed well.

Susan Adams, 1659 2500 Street, Atlanta, IL asked if he lived on the farm and if all of the property owners have signed on to this project. Mr. Rogers stated that he does not live on the farm and that all of the property owners have not signed on. He said 68 families have signed on and maybe 10 have not.

Marilea White, 711 S. Cottage Ave., Normal, IL asked why he wants these wells. Mr. Rogers indicated that he believes in the environmental cause, that it is necessary to fight climate change and because of the benefit financially to keep his family farm.

Tyler Patrick Young, 40563 E 1400 North Rd., Saybrook, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. Mr. Young indicated that he lived in the county all his life and graduated with a BS in science at ISU. He said that he was approached by the local ethanol plant 3 years ago. He indicated that he has been studying the proposal since then. He said that he calculated his CO2 emissions which result in a negative carbon footprint. He said that the proposed CO2 well is approximately 850 feet from his dwelling.

Margaret Keylin, 304 Woodlawn St., Downs, IL asked if in considering his net zero calculation for his farming operation whether he figured using gas powered vehicles and the use of fertilizer. Mr. Young indicated that he included all farm inputs and he explained how he did it.

Steve Whittaker, 208 Indiana Ave., Urbana, IL appeared to give testimony and was sworn. Dr. Whittaker indicated that he is an expert and would like up to 30 minutes of time. He indicated that he has a PhD in Geology, he has worked in CO2 energy since 2001 and listed other experience that supported his position as an expert. Taylor Williams, Assistant State’s Attorney, confirmed his right to be considered an expert.

Dr. Whittaker indicated that he was mainly here to discuss the setback issues and that they relate to the surface issues and not the subsurface issues. He said that he does not agree with the 1,500-foot setback and stated that he observed the meeting where this setback distance was somewhat arbitrarily chosen; that the ZBA may want to revisit this setback distance requirement. He said that scientifically a 1,500-foot setback could not be justified. He said that if there would need to be a setback requirement, 660 feet would be adequate. He said that Class VI wells are regulated to a very high level, that these are active sites which are monitored regularly and designed to protect drinking water. Dr. Whittaker indicated that Class VI wells are monitored with fiber optics along the depth of the well for leakage, changes in temperature, pressure and vibrations. He said that Class VI well regulations were adopted within the last 8 years, and that the oil and gas wells that were leaking into aquifers that were identified by previous speakers were in some cases drilled on fault lines and all were drilled under regulations that are over 50 years old; that under current regulations would not have been allowed to be drilled. Dr. Whittaker indicated earthquakes would not impact Class VI wells and that financial security is required by US EPA to monitor and to close/seal wells after they are no longer used and after pressures is decreased. He said that he works for Vault, a company that is a contractor for Navigator.

Chair Finnigan indicated that all of the ZBA members would be available to attend another meeting on October 31 and would be available, if necessary, to attend another meeting on November 14, 2023. He said that the County Board Room would be available at those times. He stated that due to the lateness of the hour, the public hearing would continue at this location at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

ADJOURNMENT: The Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 10:10 PM.

https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/9859