Opposing CO2 Sequestration

Dear Editor:

I am writing to voice my opposition to CO2 sequestration as once again Darke County is being targeted. Vault 44.01, a company from the state of Texas, has approached Andersons Marathon Ethanol plant and is meeting with landowners to lease land for the purpose of installing a CO2 injection well along with related pipelines.

A well would be drilled down through our Sole Source Freshwater Aquifer to a depth of 3,300 feet, reaching the Mount Simon Sandstone area where Supercritical CO2 would be injected under pressure. At this point, NO ONE knows or has CONTROL of how far this supercritical CO2 would migrate once it is injected into subsurface rock formation. This is where it gets more DANGEROUS! When the Supercritical CO2 meets up with water it becomes Carbonic Acid. Pressure is always seeking an escape route. Darke County has hundreds of depleted natural gas and oil wells. There are sink holes and peat bogs in our county and caves in surrounding counties. All places where this Carbonic Acid could escape to the surface.

Carbonic Acid is an odorless gas that removes oxygen from the air, putting humans and wildlife at immediate risk. Vehicles stop running, impairing EMT rescue. Should a leak or pipeline rupture occur, there is a risk of contamination to our Sole Source Aquifer and farmland. If this CO2 injection well were ever installed, Darke County residents would be sitting on a pressurized time bomb. Not knowing if, when or where a leak or rupture might occur.

If you want to sell your home or farm ground, by law, you are obligated to disclose to potentia[ buyers that CO2 might be migrating under their properties. CO2 sequestration could trigger earthquakes. The typical Homeowner’s Insurance does not cover man-made earthquakes.

Darke County does not have much CO2 to dispose of, therefore, would become a dumping ground for other states’ CO2 to be trucked or piped in and injected into Darke County’s well. The proposed project is for the duration of 12 years.

I recognize there is concern of too much CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Pumping it underground does not solve the problem, it only creates a new and different dangerous problem. It’s time to find ways to reduce CO2 emissions and, explore/research ways of using CO2 in a more productive way.

Water is our life force. There is a potential this could affect ALL residents in Darke County. It’s time our county bands together and let our voices be heard. This proposed project offers ZERO BENEFITS for Darke County residents.

Sincerely,

Fran Chrisman,

Greenville