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Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland’s massive underground CO2 storage facility — a showcase for a growing but controversial industry — has experienced a leak that is drawing scrutiny by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In an Aug. 14 notice of violation, the EPA said that “the information currently available” suggests the ADM facility in Decatur violated the Safe Drinking Water Act as well as carbon storage regulations and an EPA permit.
The EPA alleges that CO2, which ADM injects deep underground to prevent global warming, was allowed to move into “unauthorized zones,” that ADM failed to monitor a CO2 well in the required manner, and that ADM failed to follow the proper emergency response and remediation plan.
The EPA said in a written statement that the agency is working with ADM to gather more information and “ensure that issues identified in the notice are addressed as quickly as possible.”
“At present, EPA doesn’t have any information to suggest there is a threat to drinking water in nearby communities,” the agency said.
In a written statement, Archer Daniels Midland said that the company detected some corrosion in a section of a deep monitoring well; the corrosion was located about 5,000 feet underground and lower.
Corrosion in the well created holes large enough for fluid to pass through, according to an EPA inspection report quoted in a document ADM shared with the Tribune.
“(The affected) monitoring well was plugged, is not in use, and none of the other wells were impacted,” the ADM statement said. “At no time was there any impact to the surface or groundwater sources or any threat to public health. We reported this development to (the) U.S. EPA and are committed to working closely with (the) U.S. EPA on this issue.”
The estimated amount of fluid involved in the leak was less than 8,000 metric tons, which equates to less than three days of carbon injections, according to ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson.
Carbon dioxide pipelines and storage are part of a burgeoning climate industry strongly encouraged under federal climate law.
