By CAROL TOWNSEND
For The Prairie News
GALVA – A crowd of about 150 concerned citizens from Galva and the surrounding area filled half of the Galva High School gym Monday to hear more information on a proposed carbon-dioxide sequestration project.
Among the items the crowd heard was a recommendation by Mat Schnepple, the director of the Henry-Stark County Office of Emergency Services, to place a moratorium on the project proposed by Lapis Carbon Solutions and the Big River Resources ethanol plant.
Under the proposed plan, an estimated 725,000 metric tons of CO2 per year for the next 12 years would be permanently stored more than 4,000 feet underground near the Big River Resources plant on the east side of Galva. About 50 trucks per day would bring the CO2 to Galva. CO2 would also be stored in above-ground tanks prior to being injected into the ground.
Schnepple said Galva presently has trains going through with hazardous materials, anhydrous tanks across the street from the ethanol plant and propane tanks. He said his office has emergency plans to deal with all of those potential hazards, but as of now there is no plan in place to deal with CO2.
As a result, he said he will suggest to the chairman of the Henry County board that a moratorium be put on the project. Details of a moratorium will be up to the board to draw up and vote on.
Schnepple said he plans to offer objectives for Lapis. He said once those plans are in place, pursuit of a permit for the project could continue.
The crowd also heard comments from Dustin Williams, who has led a group of citizens trying to find answers to questions about this project that were not revealed to them immediately.
Williams said everyone has to have food, water and air to live. He said his concern for this project is that CO2 could leak into the city’s wells and then Galva and surrounding towns would have no water to use.
Lapis has said the CO2 will not impact Galva’s wells, which are less than 2,000 feet deep. Residents are not so certain, saying the project could endanger Galva’s water aquifer.
Williams said the whole project is about the money. It has been noted that Lapis and Big River could earn $62 million a year in tax incentives to store the CO2 underground.
Also speaking at the meeting was Amanda Stodgel, a registered nurse, who presented details from a forensic audit on Galva’s emergency infrastructure that she conducted.
She said her summary reveals “systemic failures that threaten public safety and represent a critical lapse in fiscal management.”
She said Galva allocates approximately $250,000 per year to the ambulance budget, noting that service costs have increased 131%.
She said federal requirements mandate verified, documented emergency response arrangements for high-stake industrial projects and her audit confirms these arrangements are currently non-existent.
Stodgel asked for a written response from the council to her audit findings by its next meeting, which is scheduled for July 6.
In response, four Galva aldermen said they need more questions answered. Second Ward Alderman John Wirtz said he opposed the project and thinks the ethanol plant should not have been built as close to Galva as it was.
Third Ward Alderperson Jackie Clucas thanked Williams for his hard work and the knowledge he has on CO2 sequestration to help answer questions from residents.
Lapis and Big River Resources submitted a permit application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in February. The permit process could take up to four years, according to officials.
In April, the EPA issued a permit to Marquis Energy Injection LLC to store CO2 underground in a well at Hennepin.
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