FutureGen gets OK for Morgan County pipeline route

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois regulators have given the FutureGen Alliance the go-ahead for a 30-mile carbon dioxide pipeline.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/1fozwlz ) the pipeline would be buried at least four feet underground in northeast Morgan County. It'd be even deeper under farmland.

The $1.68 billion project will refit a coal-fired power plant in Meredosia (mehr-uh-DOH'-shuh) in western Illinois. Authorities want to remove carbon dioxide from the coal and store it underground. The greenhouse gas is linked to climate change.

The Illinois Commerce Commission's decision is the final element of the proposal before that agency. But FutureGen still needs federal, state and local permits. And it faces legal challenges.

Still, FutureGen Alliance CEO Ken Humphries says in a statement that the project remains on schedule for construction this year.