Will the EPA Listen to Louisiana's People?

6/22/2023

Last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held three days of hearings to allow the public to offer input regarding whether the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources’ (LDNR) should be given permitting primacy for Class VI carbon waste injection wells.

Primacy essentially means the LNDR will be given the authority to give out permits to companies that want to build these kinds of injection wells, which store carbon captured from power plants and other industrial facilities. Currently that authority rests with the EPA, which has more resources than the LNDR to rigorously protect our drinking water, land, and air.

If you have been reading our blog you probably already know all the facts and figures about how carbon capture is a fossil fuel scam with a track record of failure, or about how the LDNR, as well as Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) – which is responsible for environmental oversight of air and water – have poor track records of sufficiently monitoring our existing pipeline and well infrastructure.

Jesse George, AAE's New Orleans Policy Director, spoke against the LDNR's application for primacy at the public hearing on June 21st.

I am here to deliver a message to those who would turn Louisiana into a dumping ground: You are not welcome, and your efforts here will not be worth your while.

When primacy is granted, permitting and development takes off. While the EPA has only permitted TWO class VI injection wells nationwide, one of the two states that currently has this permitting responsibility, North Dakota, has already permitted FIVE.

We know from past experience with oil and gas wells and pipelines where these projects will be sited: in low-income communities, Black communities, and Indigenous communities. Communities across the state have said and are saying no to carbon capture in their backyards. Dozens of Louisianans came to the capitol in Baton Rouge over three days to provide their input on the LDNR's application.

"The Gulf is not a sacrifice zone to be used by the oil and gas industry. Enough is enough," said Justin Solet, member of the United Houma Nation and lifelong Louisianian.

Logan Burke, AAE's Executive Director, also gave comment at the June 21st hearing.

Louisiana agencies and leaders have been clear that it fully intends to quickly issue permits to the projects racing to be developed in our state. It is clear that industry trusts that our Department of Natural Resources will move these permits along more hastily, than the EPA, as there are nearly a dozen injection projects that have been announced and are participating in other federal permitting procedures that have not filed anything with the EPA for deep CO2 injection. This means they are waiting.

Industry is waiting for the famously under-resourced and permissive DNR to have the authority to hand out permits. Industry trusts that DNR will move the process along on a timeline to their liking. Transferring primacy from a federal agency to a Louisiana one automatically means less oversight, less rigor, and fewer resources to ensure permits are enforced. This isn’t even a function of good or bad intention at the agency. It is a function of math and budgets.

If the EPA intends to transfer this awesome responsibility to the state of Louisiana, rules with TEETH are necessary. I mean rules that ensure that the EPA will claw back primacy if the state does not provide the necessary resources to conduct its business.

This draft primacy rule does not include these teeth. Please do not approve this rule.

Get Involved

Make your voice heard! Submit a comment to the EPA here, until July 3, 2023. Not sure what to say? The Sierra Club has you covered. It can be intimidating to write comments, but you can get support developing your story on June 27th at 6:30pm. Register for their virtual session at: https://bit.ly/446hsY0.