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.
In order 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.
Members
- Chair: Randy Locke, principal research scientist and head of the Geochemistry section, Illinois State Geological Survey
- Contact: Trish Barker, PRI associate director for strategic communication, tlbarker@illinois.edu or 217-200-2327
- Sallie Greenberg, associate director of Energy and Minerals, Illinois State Geological Survey
- Walt Kelly, groundwater geochemist and head of the Groundwater section, Illinois State Water Survey
- Hannes Leetaru, senior petroleum geologist and head of the Petroleum Geology section, Illinois State Geological Survey
- George Roadcap, hydrogeologist, Illinois State Water Survey
- Andrew Stumpf, associate quaternary geologist, Ilinois State Geological Survey
- Jason Thomason, principal research scientist and head of the Hydrogeology and Geophysics section, Illinois State Geological Survey
- Steve Whittaker, director of Energy and Minerals, Illinois State Geological Survey
- Rick Winkel, PRI deputy executive director
Reports & Presentations
- Final report of the Mahomet Aquifer Protection Task Force
- An Introductory Guide to the Mahomet Aquifer and Natural Gas Storage in East-Central Illinois
- An Introduction to Natural Gas Storage in Illinois (PDF)
- Anomalous groundwater pressure responses in the Mahomet aquifer near the Manlove Gas Storage Field
- Geologic Cross Sections of Quaternary Deposits Across the Manlove Gas Storage Field Area, Champaign County, Illinois
- Groundwater Quality Near Ancona, Illinois
For more information, or if you have any questions, contact Trish Barker (tlbarker@illinois.edu; 217-300-2327).