GREENVILLE, Ohio -- Columbus-based Battelle is heading up a proposed project that would inject the carbon dioxide released from the Anderson’s Marathon Ethanol plant into the ground. It’s a process known as carbon sequestration.

The proposed project in Greenville is part of the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, which is one of 7 such partnerships nationwide researching carbon sequestration.

These projects are going on around the world, and around the Midwest. Battelle just finished a similar project in Michigan. They are also currently working on a smaller-scale injection project in Eastern Ohio.

Still, the project’s experimental nature concerns many Greenville residents.

Ken and Carrie Stiefel live with their five children in a farmhouse across the street from the Anderson’s Marathon Ethanol Plant.

They said they were upset when the plant went in, and now Battelle’s proposed project has them even more concerned.

“Everything we’ve heard was ‘experimental,’ ifs, ‘we don’t think it’s going to be a concern,’” said Carrie.

Indeed, carbon sequestration is still in its experimental stage. Its ultimate goal is to reduce carbon dioxide.

“The main purpose of this is removing carbon dioxide, which is the primary greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere to help address climate change issues,” said Michael Baker, chief of the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters with the Ohio EPA.

Battelle is on the forefront of this technology. The Greenville project would be the largest scale test yet, and the next step toward wide-scale carbon dioxide injection. However, it will take a decade to complete.

“Under our current schedule we wouldn’t be injecting until 2010 and then we have planed to do a four year injection period, where we’d be injecting from roughly 2010 to 2014,” said David Ball, the Battelle program manager.

A four year monitoring period would follow the injection period.

The Ohio EPA says they will take every precaution to ensure people’s safety.

“There will be lots of steps that will be taken before the well is ever constructed, a lot of steps taken during construction and during operation to ensure protection of underground sources of drinking water,” said Baker.

Those underground sources of drinking water come from a large aquifer near the plant.

“So if there was any concerns about contamination of water, there’s a large water source right there,” said Stiefel.

However, Battelle and the EPA said the drinking water sits between 100 and 200 feet below the surface, and the carbon dioxide would be at a depth of 3,500 feet.

Still, citizens have questions, and the city of Greenville said it is doing all it can to tell its citizens about the carbon dioxide injection proposal. Yet, when it comes down to it, the final decision is out of the city’s hands.

In the end, the decision to move forward will be based on the geology. Porous sandstone with non-porous cap rocks are ideal.

“These are the same kinds of structures that have stored natural gas and oil for millions of years,” said Ball.

However, since injecting carbon dioxide is a relatively new practice, city leaders and residents hope the decision will not be taken lightly.

Some people may ask why did they choose to inject the carbon dioxide in Greenville, click this link to find out why.