A farmer in a tractor sprays soybean crops. Wabash Valley Resources plans to sequester carbon to produce “green” fertilizer. Photo from Getty Images.

By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week issued permits allowing a West Terre Haute-based company to construct two underground wells for carbon sequestration.

The EPA has approved just two such Class VI permits: to the Archer Daniels Midland Company operating in Macon County, Illinois, and Indiana’s Wabash Valley Resources.

It’s a victory seven years in the making.

Connecticut-based Philipp Brothers Fertilizer and investors snapped up the former SG Solutions gasification plant in West Terre Haute in 2016, according to parent company Phibro. Work has been ongoing since then, Vice President of External Affairs Greg Zoeller said in October.

WVR intends to pipe and inject 1.67 million tons of carbon dioxide annually a mile below the earth’s surface as part of its plan to produce “green” anhydrous ammonia fertilizer at a former coal gasification plant in Vigo County.

Its permit allows it to build wells in Vermillion and Vigo counties.

“Following extensive review and public engagement, EPA determined that the wells meet all requirements for initial approval, including stringent safety measures,” the EPA said in a news release Wednesday.

But the agency noted that, once WVR finishes well construction, it will need separate approval to actually begin injecting the carbon dioxide. The agency promised to “maintain robust oversight.”

“Today’s action will help reduce industrial carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change while protecting nearby communities and essential groundwater resources in Vermillion and Vigo counties,” EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore said. “We look forward to continued engagement with these communities as construction proceeds.”

In a separate statement, WVR said it “welcomed the issuance.”

“We hope the stringent guidelines incorporated in the final permits will help build trust and reassurance within our community by verifying the rigorous safety standards we are building into every phase of construction and operations,” the company said.

Residents have mobilized against the project, citing potential consequences like pipe ruptures and water contamination. Many have been skeptical of the company’s intentions and its use of public incentives.

Copies of the two permits and a response to public comments are public.