Indiana Town Fights Carbon Burial Project

In Clymers, Indiana, residents are voicing strong opposition to a proposed carbon sequestration project, fearing it could devastate their community. The plan, funded by generous US tax dollars, involves burying carbon dioxide emissions deep underground, a technology supported by both past and present US administrations through lucrative tax credits.

Company Andersons Renewables states the project is safe and uses established technology, with rigorous monitoring to protect groundwater and public health. They plan to inject captured CO2 over 3,000 feet underground into geologic formations for permanent storage.

However, community members like Melissa Harrison, whose family has lived in Clymers for generations, express deep concern. They cite existing industrial hazards, including contaminated well water and a lack of sewage facilities, and fear the project will further degrade their quality of life. Some residents were offered as little as $150 per year to accept the carbon storage beneath their properties.

Environmental groups also raise alarms, questioning if carbon sequestration is a viable climate solution or merely a subsidy for the oil and gas industry. They advocate for more significant cuts to fossil fuel use, warning that sequestration could delay the necessary transition to clean energy and poses risks like earthquakes and water contamination, referencing past leaks in Illinois and a CO2 pipeline rupture in Mississippi.