Lapis Carbon Solutions, a carbon capture and sequestration developer and operator, has filed a coastal use permit with the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources. The public comment period ends Wednesday, April 23.
Lapis has filed multiple permits with state agencies as part of its planned LIBRA project, which would develop a 14,000-acre carbon storage site in the parish. If approved, the latest permit would help pave the way for access roads, well pads and a 16-inch pipeline to receive, inject and store carbon dioxide on private property six miles away from Lake Salvador. This would impact about 15.2 acres of wetlands.
Residents can upload comments online to the Office of Coastal Management, or they can mail, fax or email comments to the office’s reviewer, Emily Eley. Her email address is Emily.eley@la.gove.
Lapis argues that the project would help grow Louisiana’s economy, but residents have voiced their concerns online about long term health and environmental impacts of permanent carbon dioxide storage.
One vocal critic is State Rep. Charles A. Owen. He argued in a recent op-ed for Nola.com that carbon capture and storage isn’t worth the risk.
“Capturing something that is used by plant life (carbon dioxide) and turning it into a possible poison and then sequestering it below ground is not an energy activity whatsoever,” he wrote.
But a slew of legislation aimed at limiting carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects failed during the 2024 regular session, including bills that would eliminate eminent domain for CCS projects, expand property rights, allow local tax levies for carbon dioxide injection wells and require carbon dioxide projects to comply with local land use planning and zoning ordinances.
The legislature, however, did pass other bills to regulate the controversial technology, including one that requires well operators to formulate emergency response plans.
Roland Hollins, a representative for the advocacy group Louisiana CO2 Alliance, said the upcoming 2025 legislative session is the most important because several more bills regulating the industry will be up for debate.
“This affects our safety and our communities and our water,” he said. “This is crossing party lines. This is not about a party. This is about Louisiana communities.”
Hollins said that while he acknowledges climate change, he does not think CCS is a solution. He said the technology is untested, and he worries about the effects on property values and water aquifers.
“They want to accumulate this stuff in just massive amounts, tons and tons, and then send it to one area,” he said.
Proponents of the technology say it helps solve the problem of a warming climate. Carbon dioxide emissions act as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat within the Earth’s atmosphere. CCS technology removes or limits carbon from the atmosphere and stores it underground in geological formations.
For about 40 years, oil and gas companies have used carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery. Louisiana has in place a network of CO2 pipelines.
Federal tax credits have incentivized CCS projects. And, in December 2023, the EPA granted Louisiana permitting authority over carbon storage wells. There are currently Class V (test wells) and Class VI projects planned in 18 parishes throughout the state.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the LIBRA project would occur in Lake Salvador. The proposed project area is six miles away from Lake Salvador on private property. We apologize for the error.
