The Champaign County Board voted March 20 to create a county select committee to study carbon sequestration and underground CO2 storage near local groundwater resources, a move driven by public and committee concern about leakage incidents and potential effects on the Mahomet Aquifer.

The board’s Environmental Land Use Committee brought the resolution forward and members emphasized a fact‑based approach. Committee chair (name not specified in the transcript) and supporters said they expect the task force to hear from local scientific experts, including speakers offered by the Prairie Research Institute, which is already conducting geophysics work to better define aquifer properties.

Why it matters: commercial carbon capture projects in Illinois have reported leaks in the past and local advocates and officials raised concerns about risks to the Mahomet Aquifer if underground sequestration is expanded. The task force is intended to compile local evidence, hear technical briefings and recommend county positions or next steps.

Discussion highlights:

• Committee members asked for careful, evidence‑based hearings. A board member referenced recent news reports and an analysis from the Prairie Rivers Network that raised concerns about an ADM carbon capture facility.

• County committee members said the county is fortunate to have regional research resources; Prairie Research Institute agreed to present on groundwater and geophysics work already under way.

• State legislation was discussed: House Bill 3614 (carbon capture/aquifer language) and Senate Bill 1723 (protection of sole source aquifer) were mentioned as moving through the Illinois General Assembly; board members were invited to submit witness slips if they wished to express positions as individuals.

The board later adopted a companion resolution appointing named members to the task force and corrected a typographical error in one appointee’s name. The task force chair indicated he expects a sequence of meetings and offered to share a mission statement and schedule with any board member who requests it.

Next steps: the Environmental Land Use Committee will provide the task force mission statement and proposed schedule to the full board and arrange technical briefings. The task force’s findings and any recommendations would return to the board for possible policy or regulatory action.