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Protect Clean Drinking Water From Carbon Injection Wells
Final signature count: 4,554
4,554 signatures toward our 30,000 goal
Sponsor: The Rainforest Site
Three proposed carbon-sequestration wells sit near an aquifer, which supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands. Tell the EPA to require rigorous protections before approving permits.
Beneath central Illinois lies the Mahomet Aquifer — a vast underground water source spanning 13 counties and supplying drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people.6 Now, a proposal to inject compressed carbon dioxide deep into the ground in McLean County, just miles from that aquifer, has put communities on alert.
The EPA published notice of its intent to issue permits to One Earth Sequestration for three Class VI injection wells — a federally regulated well type designed specifically for long-term geologic carbon storage.2 Environmental advocates have raised urgent concerns about how close those sites sit to freshwater resources.1 The comment period closed September 23. The decision now belongs to EPA Region 5.
What a CO₂ Leak Can Do
This isn't a theoretical risk. When compressed CO₂ migrates underground — and it can migrate unpredictably, over decades or centuries — it can dissolve into groundwater, turn it acidic, and mobilize heavy metals that would otherwise remain locked in surrounding rock.6 Contamination at this scale, in an aquifer this critical, cannot easily be reversed.
Illinois Has Already Acted — But Federal Protection Is Still Needed
The concern is serious enough that Illinois passed a law in 2025 specifically banning carbon sequestration at the Mahomet Aquifer.5 Champaign County went further in early 2026, approving a temporary ban on sequestration projects within its borders while local officials sought greater certainty about water safety.4 Protection of the aquifer from sequestration remains a central priority for legislators and advocates across the region.3
These are not reflexive reactions. They reflect real, documented concern from people who depend on this water every day — and who have no alternative if it fails.
The Permits Must Include the Strongest Possible Safeguards
The EPA's Underground Injection Control program exists precisely to protect underground drinking water sources. Class VI permits are designed to require groundwater monitoring, mechanical integrity testing, financial assurance for long-term stewardship, and emergency response plans.7 But the protective value of any permit depends entirely on how rigorously those requirements are written and enforced.
Before EPA Region 5 authorizes these wells, the permits must include comprehensive baseline groundwater monitoring with ongoing testing, robust safeguards against CO₂ plume migration, fully funded financial assurance sufficient to address contamination over the full life of the project, and a detailed, credible emergency response plan.2,7
A Generational Decision
The families, farmers, and communities of central Illinois — including children, elderly residents, and anyone who cannot simply find another water source — will live with the outcome of this decision for generations. The EPA has both the authority and the obligation to hold these permits to the highest standard available under federal law.
Sign the petition now to demand that EPA Region 5 require rigorous groundwater safeguards, monitoring, emergency-response requirements, and financial assurance before authorizing these three carbon-sequestration injection wells.
