Citizens Against CO2 Protest Proposal

Hundreds of Darke County residents gathered Monday evening at the All Seasons Place to protest a controversial proposal to inject carbon dioxide waste 3,500 feet below an ethanol plant in Greenville.

The process is called sequestration, which is defined in the dictionary as “to withdraw, to isolate” and attendants of the meeting said the effects could be devastating for the area and their biggest concern is there is so much about this proposal that no one knows.

“I think there’s so much that’s not known at this point in time that I think everybody’s up in the air,” Jeff Smith, a Greenville resident said. “Everybody’s scared.”

According to Judith Bradbury, outreach coordinator for Battelle, “Carbon dioxide sequestration, the safe capture and storage of carbon dioxide, as proposed to be tested in Greenville, involves capturing carbon dioxide gas from an industrial source, compressing it into a semi-liquid state called a supercritical fluid, and injecting it at least 2,500 feet below the earth's surface into a permeable, porous layer of rock.”

Monday’s meeting is similar to a rally held Saturday in where members of the "Citizens Against CO2 Sequestration" marched to the beat of a drum and chanted “No CO2.”

The League of Women Voters of Darke County will host a town hall meeting on Tuesday, July 28, to help residents further understand this complex issue.

The site for the sequestration is under the ethanol plant in the Greenville Industrial Park. http://citizensagainstco2sequestration.blogspot.com/

Battelle www.MRCSP.org

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