FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 18, 2025
Contact: Andrew Rehn, Director of Climate Policy, Prairie Rivers Network, arehn@prairierivers.org, 708-305-6181 & Pam Richart, Co-Director, Eco-Justice Collaborative, prichart@ecojusticecollaborative.org, 773-556-3418
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The bill to protect the Mahomet Aquifer from carbon sequestration passed a House Committee today. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted to move the bill out of the House Energy & Environment Committee and to the House floor.
“Today was an important day for central Illinois,” said Representative Carol Ammons, “When it comes to our Mahomet Aquifer, we won’t allow anyone to put our clean drinking water at risk. Our collective goal must be to make sure the law keeps that risk at zero.”
“Passing HB 3614 by such a wide margin showed the House Committee recognizes the hazards of allowing the Mahomet Aquifer to be used as an experiment for carbon sequestration technology.” said Pam Richart, Co-Director of the Eco-Justice Collaborative, “ADM’s Decatur carbon sequestration project, the only approved operating Class VI well project in the county, leaked twice. We aren’t ready to do carbon sequestration at this scale under our sole source of drinking water.”
“It feels like the voice of the public is finally being heard,” said Andrew Rehn, Climate Policy Director at Prairie Rivers Network. “Protecting drinking water is just common sense. This legislation is bipartisan and has strong support from mayors and village presidents across the Mahomet Aquifer region. It was terrific to see representatives from outside the aquifer stepping up to support these key protections. We hope to see the same in the Senate.”
The Senate version of the bill (SB 1723), championed by Senator Faraci, will be next heard in the Senate Energy & Public Utilities Committee on Thursday.
