On Tuesday, Jan. 21st, the CCFB Governmental Affairs committee held a fascinating meeting on the topic of carbon capture and storage. Bill Bodine, IL Farm Bureau Director of Business and Regulatory Affairs, led off the meeting with a discussion of where current IFB policy stands and the current regulatory environment at the state and federal level. Representatives of One Earth Energy, an ethanol plant located in Gibson City, then discussed their carbon capture and storage project which proposes to sequester carbon in eastern McLean County. Finally, IL State Senator Paul Faraci discussed his point of view with regards to carbon capture and storage technology and the bill that he has proposed in Springfield on the issue. To no surprise the hot topic of the day was the potential for carbon capture and storage projects within the confines of the Mahomet Aquifer. It was a great discussion with varying viewpoints and everyone, including myself, learned a lot about the issues surrounding carbon sequestration and storage that morning.
On the federal level, the rules around the 45Z interim rule, which will dictate the practices that will qualify for carbon reduction and sustainable aviation fuel, have been announced. Currently the industry response to the interim rule has been positive. Illinois Farm Bureau will be commenting on the interim rule, which will be finalized after a 60 day comment period.
At the state level, the general assembly has just kicked off the new session. It stands to be a busy year and IL Farm Bureau has announced their state legislative priorities. Those priorities include: passage of the Family Farm Preservation Act, protecting the LMFA, working to maintain adequate funding for key IDOA programs, working to provide farmers and landowners with adequate tools needed to manage deer populations on their properties, and many other important issues.
I would invite everyone to come out to the to the next Governmental Affairs Committee meeting on Feb. 25th at 7:30 am in the CCFB Auditorium.