DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — About one year after ADM allegedly violated its permit and failed to monitor an injection well, both the company and the EPA said steps have been taken to make corrections.

Now, ADM plans to restart carbon dioxide injections in Decatur “in the coming days.” 

The EPA issued a final order to ADM on Wednesday, which ensures the company is complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act when injecting carbon dioxide and other fluids into the ground.

This stems from an alleged violation that took place in July last year. The EPA said ADM violated its permit when it failed to monitor the injection well and the injected fluid moved into an unauthorized space about 5,000 feet below ground. Then, about two months later, ADM paused carbon dioxide injections while they tested their carbon capture and storage (CCS) deep monitoring wells.

Despite the alleged violation, the EPA said public heath was not jeopardized. The fluid did not come above ground, and Decatur’s drinking water is drawn from Lake Decatur or wells that are less than 110 feet deep. Water sources are also separated from the injection sites by about two miles and several rock layers, the EPA said.

Several steps are being taken — or have already been taken — to ensure that ADM is in compliance with environmental regulations. These include:

• Submitting detailed reports about the cause of the well failures and the removal of migrated fluids.
• Replacing certain subsurface equipment with new, redesigned equipment, instrumentation, and materials.
• Switching to a single-zone design to prevent the potential for fluid migration between multiple zones within the well infrastructure. 
• Using 25-chrome steel in major components for enhanced corrosion resistance.

Based on testing and analysis done, ADM said their work to recomplete their deep monitoring wells in nearly done, and they plan to restart carbon dioxide injections in Decatur soon.

The EPA added that its final order will ensure future injections are safe. Some of ADM’s compliance measures include implementing certain parts of the permit’s emergency and remedial response plan for a failure of monitoring well integrity. For more details on the measures, click here.

An ADM spokesperson said the company recently entered into an updated Administrative Order of Consent with the EPA.

“ADM continues to be a pioneer in the [carbon capture and storage] industry. We are playing a critical role in the advancement and evolution of this technology, utilizing the input and guidance of numerous third-party experts, including the U.S. EPA. We take very seriously our responsibility to operate this technology safely, capture our learnings along the way, and make adjustments as needed,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to WCIA. “We remain confident in the safety, security, and effectiveness of CCS as a greenhouse gas mitigation technology and its potential to bring new industries and economic opportunities to the entire state of Illinois.”