Prairie Research Institute

Natural Gas

In Oct. 2017, PRI formed a Natural Gas Working Group to assist stakeholders in responding to a natural gas leak that occurred from a storage facility near Fisher, Illinois, and to consider natural gas storage activities in Illinois as they relate to natural resource characterization, management, and protection issues.

To provide accurate, objective information, the group compiled reports and data generated or maintained by PRI that could inform sound scientific characterization of the local geology, hydrology, water chemistry, and related natural resources associated with the gas leak; consulted with key stakeholders, including state agencies and offices (e.g., Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Attorney General’s Office, Illinois Department of Public Health); and provided information and expertise to the Mahomet Aquifer Protection Task Force, which considered natural gas among several potential threats to the aquifer that provides water to Central Illinois.

Reports & Presentations

For more information, or if you have questions, please contact Tiffany Jolley (tjolley2@illinois.edu; 217-300-2356).