What you need to know
This summer, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make a decision on its proposal to grant the state of Louisiana special authority — called “primacy” — over the permitting process for industrial projects to capture and store carbon dioxide. Should the state be granted primacy, the state will have full authority over the siting and approval of new carbon capture and storage projects.
This is deeply concerning because heavy industry is looking to make Louisiana a national hub for carbon capture and storage, and the state has shown little regard for the very real concerns about the negative impacts on people and the environment of these massive industrial projects.
Just last month, Louisiana greenlit a dangerous plan to inject carbon dioxide under Lake Maurepas, with an additional 20 proposed carbon capture and storage projects currently moving toward getting approved.
The EPA has opened an official public comment period about this proposal, which will end on July 3, 2023. We must come together to tell the EPA that, because Louisiana has proven unable to adequately assess carbon capture and storage projects, it should not be given this special authority.
We ask that the EPA retains primacy over carbon capture and storage permitting until the state can demonstrate:
that it is capable of properly regulating carbon capture and storage projects in a transparent process with thorough public engagement,
that it is able to provide the necessary resources to address potential disasters caused by carbon capture and storage infrastructure malfunction or failure,
that vulnerable areas such as Lake Maurepas and its surrounding wetlands are protected from industrial development.