(The Center Square) – Louisiana lawmakers on Tuesday blocked a series of bills that would have allowed parish-level prohibitions of carbon capture and sequestration, an industrial decarbonization process that involves trapping carbon dioxide at industrial facilities, compressing it into a liquid-like state and transporting it via pipelines for permanent storage thousands of feet underground.
In 10-7 and 9-7 votes, members of the House Natural Resources Committee killed five separate measures that would have provided for local control over carbon capture and sequestration in Rapides, Allen, Vernon, Beauregard and St. Helena parishes, located in central and southeastern Louisiana.
Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, the sponsor of bills that would have given local parishes the ultimate say over Class VI injection wells and CO2 pipelines, asked committee members, “What is the harm in letting our people who put us here decide by vote?”
Johnson said that when a large industrial project impacts a community’s safety and landscape, local residents deserve a voice that should not be overridden by an individual property owner or outside corporation.
Louisiana Chemical Association President David Cresson warned the committee that fracturing the state’s regulatory framework would damage Louisiana’s ability to compete with neighboring states for energy investment.
“If Louisiana creates a system where projects can be approved in one parish, prohibited in another and potentially reversed through shifting local politics, companies will view that as instability,” Cresson testified. “And when that happens, capital moves elsewhere.”
Cresson noted that the state’s industrial manufacturers sell their products in international markets, where buyers increasingly prioritize lower-carbon goods. He said Louisiana firms must develop carbon capture technology to meet environmental standards.
Rep. C. Travis Johnson, D-Vidalia, warned that giving individual parishes the ability to opt out could hamper Louisiana’s trade-oriented economy. He noted that about 20% of Louisiana’s gross domestic product depends on exports.
Louisiana Department of Energy and Conservation Secretary Dustin Davidson said parish-level control of carbon capture projects threatens the state’s regulatory authority and could create a burden for taxpayers.
“If these bills were to move forward and pass and be signed into law, you will likely need to include a fiscal note to account for the legal fees that we’re going to have to fight this in federal court,” Davidson told lawmakers.
Davidson warned that a protracted legal battle could prompt the EPA to reconsider Louisiana’s regulatory primacy over Class VI injection wells, which the state secured in early 2024 after a two-year application process and review of more than 40,000 public comments.
Without a stable statewide framework, Davidson said energy developers could pull investment from Louisiana.
“A lot of these companies want certainty,” he said. “They want to know what the timeline looks like, and it’s very possible they’ll just go to Texas or North Dakota.”
Speaker Pro Tempore Johnson rejected Davidson’s assertion that local-option laws are inherently disruptive. He said the Supreme Court has long recognized that local governments may regulate land use under traditional police powers.
“This is not unique,” Johnson said, noting that Louisiana parishes already exercise local control over zoning, gaming and alcohol sales.
A rigid interpretation of state versus local authority also drew questioning from Rep. Kimberly Coates, R-Ponchatoula, who asked why a state with federal primacy could not incorporate local consent into permitting rules.
“But we’re not changing the EPA standards,” Coates said. “We’re just giving a local option, so we’re not changing any of those standards in the permitting process.”
Davidson countered that requiring parish approval would alter the permitting landscape.
“But you are creating an undue burden as to where they can locate their well,” he said.
Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Baton Rouge, pressed Davidson on his legal interpretation of the Supremacy Clause, noting that committee hearings often include technical legal arguments.
“It is my opinion as secretary; I’m not a lawyer,” Davidson said.
The committee’s action Tuesday follows an earlier defeat of House Bill 7, another local-control measure authored by Johnson. Called the Louisiana Landowners Protection Act, the bill would have blocked corporations from using eminent domain to build CO2 pipeline infrastructure and deep-well storage.
