Residents pack Tazewell County board meeting over proposed CO2 pipeline

Filtering in a few at a time, residents had filled the James Carius Community Room in the Tazewell County Justice Center to capacity by the time Wednesday’s Tazewell County Board meeting began.

For the second straight month, the residents were there to convey their concerns about the Mount Simon Hub, a carbon capture and sequestration project that would place CO2 pipelines through sections of the county.

More: CO2 pipeline proposal a cause for concern for Pekin area residents, officials

“I’m concerned because I don’t know the safety record of this company,” said Lisa Linton of Pekin. “I live in that area. My grandkids go to Rankin School, and the pipeline’s supposed to run right behind that school. I don’t know how much danger they’re going to be in.”

While several residents voiced their opposition to the project during the meeting’s public comment section, resistance to the pipeline was not unanimous.

“We have close to 250 members living in Tazewell County and 1,400 members in central Illinois,” said Luke Ogan, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 649 business representative. “We support this project. Wolf Carbon Solutions has signed a letter of intent saying they will do this project 100 % union, and we are highly trained and highly skilled at installing and maintaining pipelines safely.”

Wolf Carbon Solutions spokespersons Patrick Brierly and Tracey McDaneld were on hand to give a presentation about the Mount Simon Hub.

This article originally appeared on Pekin Daily Times: Residents continue voicing concern over proposed pipleine near Pekin