State EPA To Canvas Homes Near Gas Leak In Rural Mahomet
State Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) in a 2015 photo. Rose asked the Illinois EPA to look into whether the gas leak in rural Mahomet contaminated more water wells than the five identified by Peoples Gas. Jim Meadows/Illinois Public Media
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency staff will be canvassing homes in rural Mahomet Monday, following reports last December of a natural gas leak from a nearby storage well owned by Peoples Gas.
In a Friday news release, the state EPA said they planned to collect water samples from 40 private wells, including the five where Peoples Gas had confirmed as contaminated by the leak. The sampling will provide additional information for the residents to take further action, as the Illinois EPA does not regulate private wells.
State Senator Chapin Rose said he appreciated the Illinois EPA action. Rose had asked the state attorney general's office to investigate the gas leak, after attorneys for some of the affected property owners held a public meeting in Newcomb Township in rural Mahomet on the issue earlier this month. That meeting drew about 200 people, according to the News-Gazette.
Last month, the Illinois EPA issued a citation against Peoples Gas because of the leak. The leak occurred at Manlove Field. That’s a natural gas storage facility, located above the Mahomet Aquifer, which serves as the region’s water supply.