Eco-Justice Collaborative

06/03/2026

Illinois is the target for storage of more than 600 million metric tons of CO2. EJC is working with residents to ensure they are protected from projects that threaten their drinking water, and filed an appeal with the Environmental Appeals Board for this Putnam County CCS project, the first to be approved in Illinois since ADM's Decatur project. Click for a summary of the concerns.

On May 7, EJC filed an appeal for the Class VI well permit issued for Marquis, the largest geologic storage project in Illinois.

05/13/2026

EJC has been working with farmers and landowners threatened by the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines since 2022. Banning eminent domain with SB 2842 will require private CO2 pipeline companies to negotiate with farmers and other landowners to lessen impacts to property and farm operations, and to improve safety in the event of an accidental release of CO2.

Thank you, State Senator Mike Halpin for introducing SB 2842 for your work to pass this important bill!

05/11/2026

Great article from Ben Seal highlighting the pitfalls of CCS in Illinois. "Illinois has become “a testing ground,” according to Pam Richart of the Champaign-based nonprofit Eco-Justice Collaborative." The best part of the article features local farmers Julie Fosdick and Brent Lage, who share their experiences and fears over this technology, which may be forced upon them despite the risks to their families' safety, water, and health.

Ben Seal is a free-lance journalist who writes for The New Lede, an award-winning newsroom dedicated to covering issues at the intersection of human and environmental health.

Julie Fosdick’s farm in Logan County, Illinois, has been in the family for almost 200 years, but it wasn’t until recently that it started attracting attention for its potential to make other people money. With 200 acres of mostly corn and soybeans that she manages for her four siblings, she’s ...

04/13/2026

Watch this short video to learn about Illinois hyper-scale data center bill, The Power Act, which is making its way through the General Assembly. It provides the protections we need to address:

✅ Already skyrocketing utility bills and a changing climate. Developers must bring their own clean, renewable energy and pay for their own grid infrastructure.

✅Threats to our water (these data centers are MASSIVE water consumers). Data centers must be at least as water efficient as closed loop cooling systems.

✅ Pollution from backup generators. Data centers cannot use backup diesel generators except in an emergency.

✅ Protection for environmental justice communities. Data centers can't be closer than three miles to an EJ community without a cumulative impact assessment that demonstrates no harm.

✅ Public benefits and affordability fund. Developers must pay into this fund to advance energy affordability and environmental justice, as it relates to grant making for water infrastructure improvements, air quality monitoring

Use the links on the landing page to send a letter to your legislators and download a fact sheet.

The POWER Act establishes guardrails on data centers that will minimize data center impacts on our utility bills, climate, and water.

04/10/2026

You need the sound on for this one!
𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 …
SB 2842 eliminates the use of eminent domain SOLELY for CO2 pipelines?

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝟮 𝗣𝗜𝗣𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘?
SB 2842. It simply forces private companies to negotiate with landowners to minimize harm. Without negotiations, CO2 pipeline routing can:
✅ Restrict farmers’ use of their property, destroy field tiles, and reduce yield.

✅ Be routed too close to homes, businesses, and schools, placing our families in grave danger if a pipeline leaks or ruptures.

𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 ...
CO2 pipelines are NOT like oil and gas. A leak or rupture can release a toxic asphyxiant that can harm—or even kill—people and animals over a mile away.
𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧
Ask your Illinois senator and representative to cosponsor SB 2842 today!
bit.ly/supportSB2842

02/18/2026

Landowners MUST be able to say no to a project that could harm-or even kill them. Especially in the absence of state or federal regulations that could provide safe routing, but do not.

Will you sign this petition to your state senator and representative asking them to support and cosponsor SB 2842, a bill that bans the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines?

SB 2842 is a landowner rights and safety bill. Ask your senator and representative to support and cosponsor the bill today! ..

12/08/2025

BREAKING: We're proud to have joined 230+ groups to call on Congress to stop the approval and construction of new data centers. With huge impacts on water, climate, electricity bills and more, it's time to put the brakes on the unregulated data center frenzy!

Letter to Congress Cites Massive Energy and Water Consumption, Ratepayer Turmoil