2023-17 Ordinance Authorizing Negotiation and Execution of Negotiated Easement with Archer-Daniels-Midland Company for the Underground Injection and Sequestration of CO2

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March 16, 2023 TO: Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe & Members of the Decatur City Council FROM: Scot Wrighton, City Manager RE: Easement for Carbon Capture Sequestration Presented for consideration is an easement granting ADM a "pore easement"to inject liquified carbon dioxide into subterranean seams, cracks and voids located more than 1.25 MILES under the surface of the Earth under large tracts of land owned by the city of Decatur. If the United States is serious about reducing the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, then it has to be captured and stored somewhere to have a meaningful impact on the climate. ADM has been engaged in this kind of carbon capture sequestration (CCS)for ten years, principally on sites owned by the company in Decatur. ADM has obtained the only Class 6 injection well permit from the USEPA for this purpose. This governmental review process has subjected ADM to extensive oversight and regulation to ensure the long-term safety of CCS. As the attached documents describe in greater detail, Central Illinois, Southwestern Indiana and Western Kentucky are all part of the Mt. Simon Sandstone Saline Reservoir, one of only 3 or 4 unique combinations of geological layers in North America ideally suited to the safe and long- term storage of carbon dioxide. ADM's CCS project has also been closely scrutinized by the US Department of Energy and the Illinois Geological Survey at the University of Illinois. The city also reached out to one of its own consultants, Intera, for additional analysis. Intera's Indiana Office includes specialists in CCS and subsurface industrial injections. Intera believes the Federal government's review and supervision of the CCS process and ADM's permit was comprehensive, and they predicted very little risk from ADM's continued injection of liquid carbon dioxide into the Mt. Simon Sandstone Reservoir because it can be stored under several thick and stable shale and rock layers. Approval of the proposed easement grants no approvals for, nor has any impact upon, separate proposals for interstate piping projects that could be used to transport liquid carbon dioxide. In truth, carbon dioxide pipelines will likely not result in significant new job creation in Macon County. But if expanded CCS operations in Decatur result in new companies locating their plants in Decatur to access Decatur CCS facilities, then CCS will directly advance the city's economic development objectives. In fact,the city and the Decatur/Macon County Economic Development Corporation have already been contacted by companies who want to locate in Decatur to obtain access to CCS facilities. The Federal government provides incentives and credits to certain companies that capture their sequested carbon dioxide emissions. After a brief ADM presentation and Q&A on Monday night, it is recommended that the proposed easement be approved.