Bill
SB 1723
Prohibits carbon sequestration activities within sole-source aquifers (including the Mahomet Aquifer) while requiring permits and creating an advisory commission on safety.
Status and timeline
- Bill number: SB 1723 (Public Act 104‑0119)
- Introduced: February 27, 2025; Enrolled and passed both houses in May 2025.
- Governor approved: August 1, 2025.
- Effective date: January 1, 2026.
Purpose and intent
- The Act amends the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to add protections for sole‑source aquifers — especially the Mahomet Aquifer, identified as the sole source of drinking water for central Illinois. The General Assembly recognizes carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a climate tool but seeks additional safeguards where CCS activities could affect sole‑source drinking water supplies.
Key provisions — what the law does
- Prohibits CCS in certain locations:
- No person may conduct a “carbon sequestration activity” within a sequestration facility that overlies, underlies, or passes through a “sole‑source aquifer” (defined to include the Sole Source Aquifer Area designated by the U.S. EPA on March 19, 2015, i.e., the Mahomet Aquifer area).
- This prohibition does not limit the Illinois EPA’s general authority to deny permits.
- Retains permit requirement:
- Carbon sequestration activities remain subject to a state permit issued by the Illinois EPA under Section 59.6. Existing federal/state‑permitted activities in existence on the effective date and certain Class VI well permit filings (with completeness determinations received before Jan 1, 2023) on contiguous, commonly owned property are excepted.
- Definitions and other statutory changes:
- Adds/clarifies statutory definitions (e.g., “carbon dioxide capture project,” “carbon dioxide stream,” “carbon sequestration activity,” “sequestration facility,” and “sole‑source aquifer”).
- “Sequestration facility” includes injection wells and related surface/underground equipment but excludes CO2 transport pipelines.
- Requires, when applicable, an order for integration of pore space from the Department of Natural Resources before conducting CCS.
- Includes a definition of “project labor agreement” and its required elements for covered construction projects.
- Establishes the Mahomet Aquifer Advisory Study Commission:
- A new commission is created to study and review reports concerning the safety of carbon capture and storage in the Mahomet Aquifer Area and other EPA‑designated sole‑source aquifer project review areas. Membership includes state agency directors (or designees), legislative appointees, and other members (details specified in statute).
Who is affected
- Primary: Developers/operators of CCS projects (especially those proposing Class VI injection wells or sequestration facilities in central Illinois / Mahomet Aquifer area).
- Secondary: Illinois EPA (permitting and enforcement), Department of Natural Resources (pore space orders), Pollution Control Board, emergency management and agriculture agencies, affected water utilities and communities relying on the Mahomet Aquifer, and contractors subject to project labor agreement provisions.
Potential impacts
- Limits siting of underground CO2 injection and related sequestration facilities within sole‑source aquifer areas, effectively preventing CCS injection directly beneath such aquifers.
- Imposes procedural and permitting constraints that could alter project design, routing (e.g., locating sequestration outside aquifer overlay areas), and timelines for CCS developers.
- Creates a state advisory body to study safety and advise on future policy affecting CCS near sole‑source aquifers.
Notes
- The statute balances support for CCS generally (recognizing its role in decarbonization) with added statutory protection for drinking‑water‑critical aquifers by prohibiting sequestration facilities that intersect sole‑source aquifers and by establishing a commission to review safety concerns.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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