700 protest against carbon dioxide plan

Project includes pushing CO2 from a nearby ethanol plant deep underground in Greenville.

Hundreds of Darke County area residents attend a Citizens Against CO2 Sequestration meeting on Monday, June 29, at the Lighthouse Christian Center in Greenville.

Staff photo by Chris Stewart Hundreds of Darke County area residents attend a Citizens Against CO2 Sequestration meeting on Monday, June 29, at the Lighthouse Christian Center in Greenville.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Photos: Hundreds protest plant's plan

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 12:56 AM Tuesday, June 30, 2009

GREENVILLE — At least 700 people turned out Monday, June 29, for a meeting organized by opponents of a $92.8 million plan to inject carbon dioxide from a nearby ethanol plant more than 3,000 feet underground.

“Are we making a statement?” Anne Vehre of Citizens Against CO2 Sequestration asked the standing-room-only crowd at Lighthouse Christian Center, Sebring-Warner Road and U.S. 36.

“Yes,” many shouted.

“Do we want it?” Vehre said.

“No,” they replied.

“We don’t want to become the dumping ground for carbon dioxide,” Vehre, former Darke County Solid Waste District director, said prior to the meeting.

Most carbon sequestration project funding, $61 million, will come from the federal government. The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, managed by Battelle in Columbus, is contributing $32 million, including $3 million in state funding.

Before injection begins, large, dual-axle trucks would drive local highways, sending shock waves into the ground and recording data from the reverberations. Those seismic tests have been delayed because of fears that they might damage tiles that drain farm fields.

MRCSP also must apply for a state “underground injection control” permit. And it does not yet have an agreement with The Andersons Marathon Ethanol LLC, whose plant generates more than 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. The injections would occur during a four-year test period.

State Rep. Jim Zehringer, R-Fort Recovery, told the crowd he has too many unanswered questions to support the project now.

“I have rarely seen a community that well organized and that strong,” said Nolan Moser of the Ohio Environmental Council, which supports the project. But he said there are dozens of proven carbon sequestration programs around the world.

“This community has not been used to oil and gas exploration,” Battelle spokeswoman Judith Bradbury said. “This is a whole new concept for them, so we have to take time to explain the issues that come up.”

County Municipal Court Judge Julie Monnin expressed concerns about a potential decline in property values and difficulty in getting man-made earthquake insurance. “Folks, if it were a good thing, Greenville wouldn’t be getting it.”

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