In Rural Illinois, Residents Protest a First-of-its-kind Agreement To Power Data Centers with Natural Gas + Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Residents in Decatur, Illinois, organized by Illinois People's Action, are opposing an expansion of ADM's carbon capture and sequestration operation, now tied to a Google and Broadwing Energy partnership to power data centers with natural gas plus CCS. The plan would more than quadruple sequestration in the area, injecting up to 2 million tons of CO2 annually near Lake Decatur, the community's drinking water source.
The opposition traces directly to 2024, when ADM's monitoring wells leaked and the company did not immediately disclose it; the project was later found to have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act, with a second well showing unexpected fluid movement 5,000 feet underground. ADM paused injections for nearly a year and says it fixed the flaws in August 2025.
Geologists interviewed express confidence in the safety of scaling up injections, but residents living within the EPA's federally mandated Area of Review remain unconvinced, citing ADM's track record on transparency rather than the engineering itself.
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