Wolf Carbon Solutions pauses its bid for Illinois approval of a controversial 260-mile CO2 pipeline

Wolf Carbon Solutions U.S., which has proposed a controversial 260-mile carbon dioxide pipeline for Illinois and Indiana, is temporarily withdrawing its application to build in Illinois.

Wolf filed a motion last week to withdraw, saying the company wants to address questions raised during a state review process in which landowners voiced strong opposition and an Illinois Commerce Commission staff member recommended against approving the project.

“Wolf understands and respects the stringent regulatory review process for this project, and we appreciate the diligence of the ICC and its staff,” Wolf Carbon Solutions U.S. President Dean Ferguson said in a written statement.

“We have made the decision to withdraw our current application, with the intent to refile in early 2024, to address the questions and concerns raised by ICC staff in their recommendation.”

The withdrawal is voluntary, according to Ferguson, and “does not impact our commitment to the project and its stakeholders, or the ongoing regulatory processes, including with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) and Army Corps of Engineers.”

Pipeline opponents issued a news release saying Wolf had wasted government and citizen resources by submitting a “deficient” application.

“Wolf Carbon Solutions is restarting the clock on the ICC process to give themselves more time to come up with answers to the many concerns raised by local residents about the proposed pipeline,” Joyce Harant, president of Citizens Against Predatory Pipelines, said in the release. “We know companies like Wolf will try to exhaust us and our resources … We are not backing down.”

Wolf’s decision comes a month after a staff member at the commerce commission recommended against allowing the pipeline to be built, citing multiple concerns, including safety and uncertainty about who would supply the carbon dioxide and where the CO2 would be stored.

The carbon dioxide pipeline project is one of several proposed for the Midwest. The goal is to take planet-warming carbon dioxide captured at ethanol plants, compress it, transport it and inject it deep underground in naturally occurring rock formations.

The proposed projects, designed to combat climate change, would benefit from billions of dollars in federal tax credits available under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Opponents have raised concerns about rare but potentially serious pipeline leaks or ruptures, which can release gaseous CO2 into the air. After a 2020 pipeline rupture in Mississippi, there were reports of shortness of breath, confusion and loss of consciousness, and 45 people sought medical care at local hospitals.

In the wake of that accident, federal regulators are updating safety rules, with the final results expected in 2024.

The commerce commission staff member who recommended against approving the Wolf pipeline, gas engineer Brett Seagle, testified that the pipeline should not be approved until the new federal safety rules are in place.

“The lives and safety of Illinois citizens must come before business concerns,” Seagle said in Oct. 24 testimony filed with the commerce commission.

The Wolf project is one of two carbon dioxide pipelines that are currently seeking state approval in Illinois. On Oct. 18, One Earth Sequestration of Gibson City filed an application for state approval of a 7-mile pipeline in Ford and McLean counties, with underground CO2 storage in McLean County.

Last month the Omaha-based company Navigator CO2 canceled its plan to build a 1,350-mile pipeline through Illinois and four other states. The company cited state regulators’ resistance to such projects.

In Indiana, BP has proposed a carbon storage project that would pipe carbon dioxide produced by heavy industry sites south to more suitable injection sites in other Indiana counties.

Among the challenges the Wolf project faced in Illinois: It appeared that the company hadn’t obtained any of the agreements with landowners it needed in order to run its pipeline through their property, according to Seagle’s testimony.

Seagle testified about another potential obstacle for the company: Despite Wolf’s well-publicized plans to work with the Chicago-based agricultural giant ADM, Seagle said ADM had not entered into a final, binding agreement to supply the project with carbon dioxide captured during ethanol production.

Wolf had also failed to secure a final, binding agreement that ADM would provide underground storage for the carbon dioxide, according to Seagle.

In its motion to withdraw its application to build in Illinois, Wolf noted objections from opponents and concerns raised by Seagle.

“(Wolf) believes that its current Application is sufficient and has objected to the parties’ motions to dismiss,” the motion said. “However, (Wolf) also believes that through a new application, it can address and moot many, if not all, of the concerns expressed.”

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