Permit applications now on hold for proposed carbon dioxide pipeline going through west-central Illinois

OMAHA, Neb. — Navigator CO2 Ventures announced Tuesday it is putting on hold one of the two biggest proposed carbon dioxide pipeline projects in the Midwest so it can reassess the project.

Associated Press reporter Josh Funk said the company withdrew its application for a key permit in Illinois and said it it was putting all its permit applications on hold. The decision comes after South Dakota regulators last month denied a permit. 

Navigator CO2 Ventures, a subsidiary of Texas-based Navigator Energy Services, had filed a route for its Heartland Greenway carbon dioxide pipeline with the Illinois Commerce Commission. The proposed pipeline route goes through 13 Illinois counties, including Hancock, Adams, Brown, Pike and McDonough.

Heartland Greenway has partnered with 20 or more ethanol and fertilizer plants in the Midwest where carbon dioxide emissions result from their production process. The carbon dioxide will be compressed, filtered and cooled, transitioning it from a gas to a liquid. The pipelines will transport carbon dioxide liquid across South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois to injection sites in Christian County and Montgomery County, south and east of Springfield.

The carbon dioxide would then be pumped 6,000 feet underground, where it would mineralize into a solid.

The Illinois permit is crucial because that’s where the company planned to store the carbon dioxide underground.

“As is consistent with our recent filings in neighboring jurisdictions, Navigator will be taking time to reassess the route and application,” the company said in a statement.

Navigator said it is not abandoning the project. It plans to reapply for permits where appropriate after completing its evaluation.

Click here to read the Associated Press story.