April 1, 2014
AP STL
10/12/10 Meredosia, Illinois The interior of Ameren’s Power Plant in Meredosia, Illinois. The plant opened in 1948. J.B. Forbes jforbes@post-dispatch.com
CHICAGO • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting public comments on a plan to inject carbon dioxide deep underground in western Illinois.
FutureGen Industrial Alliance wants to capture carbon dioxide from a coal-burning power plant in the Morgan County village of Meredosia, then inject it into underground wells near Jacksonville, about 20 miles to the east.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change when released into the atmosphere. FutureGen wants permits to inject 1.1 million metric tons a year for 20 years in a practice known as “carbon sequestration.”
The permits would be the first in the nation for injecting and storing the gas underground.