10/2/2026 Journal Advocate

logan county commissioners to consider moratorium on carbon sequestration facilities

by Callie Jones

“The Logan County Commissioners will consider imposing a temporary six-month moratorium on the issuance of permits related to the development and operation of carbon sequestration facilities in the county at their Oct. 6 business meeting.

The potential action comes following discussion at the board’s Tuesday, Sept. 29 meeting, when Commissioner Jim Yahn reported that he had talked to Kari and Brady Hume who live next to a natural gas pipeline compressor station located 951 feet from their home, and 800 feet from a CO2 pipeline. Over the last two years the 44-year-old pipeline was converted from natural gas to CO2 and the compressor station was enlarged near their house and since then they’ve been having detrimental health issues.

The Humes do not know the condition of the pipeline and that is concerning to them.

Yahn noted that earlier this year Brightwater came in to meet with the board and said they might be putting in a carbon sequestration pipeline across Logan County. He has since heard that the company has moved up to the Kimball, Neb. area and is running that line and the counties there are concerned with it running through their area. Yahn explained that the well field injects carbon into the pores of a geological formation underneath the ground and from some of the information he has looked at it appears companies like to have compressor stations a mile and a half from homes.

The Humes believe the commissioners should consider protection for the county’s citizens before anything like this is allowed to go through, which Yahn agreed with.

Yahn told his fellow commissioners that he would like the county to investigate this a bit more before allowing carbon sequestration fields or carbon sequestration pipelines to pass through the area, especially when it comes to setbacks for compressors, etc.

Commissioner Jim Santomaso agreed that there needs to be regulations and setbacks in place in the county’s Planning and Zoning Regulations before this is allowed. Commissioner Mike Brownell also agreed and stated that apparently there is a company that is leasing ground west of Peetz for sequestration wells to put carbon underground. He suggested moving forward there need to be building permits, etc. required like the county requires for wind towers or solar facilities.”