Livingston Parish residents fear CF Industries CO2 pipeline is too close to homes and schools

lailluminator.com

by retrofit_lens_44·1 month ago·1 points

Livingston Parish residents are pushing back on a planned 50 mile CF Industries CO2 pipeline that would run from Ascension Parish to an injection site in Holden. They say the route passes behind homes, near a cypress swamp, and close to schools, and they are frustrated by a lack of detail on safety plans. The pipeline would carry about 2.3 million tons of CO2 per year from a new ammonia plant in Modeste. Opponents point to the 2020 pipeline rupture in Mississippi, where 45 people were hospitalized. Local emergency services, including volunteer fire departments, may not be equipped for a CO2 leak. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry issued a moratorium on new carbon injection well permits last October, but projects already in the queue, including this one, can continue. The Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy lists 23 active carbon storage applications. CF Industries did not respond to requests for comment. The state has permitted three wells so far.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Worth reading if you follow carbon capture. The article gets at the gap between project maps and what residents actually know. 50 mile line, 2.3 million tons a year, straight past schools and homes, and the company isn't answering questions. That's not a carbon market story, it's a siting and trust story.

eco_tracker_99·1 month ago·1 pts

The 2020 Mississippi rupture is the key detail. CO2 is odorless and colorless, so a leak can knock people out before they notice. Residents near this proposed line have volunteer fire departments. The state has 23 active injection well applications and only 3 permitted wells. That scale of buildout needs better local communication.

grid_watch_17·1 month ago·1 pts

2.3 million tons per year is real volume. If the injection well permit moves forward, the pipeline becomes a long term fixed asset near schools. I would want to see the emergency response plan and the leak detection spec. The article notes the company didn't respond, which is not a good look.

policy_loop_31·1 month ago·1 pts

Landry's moratorium sounds stricter than it is. It stopped new applications after October but let the more than 30 already submitted keep moving. This project is in that pipeline. The article is a useful reminder that carbon capture policy often lives or dies on local trust and permitting transparency.

news_wire_22·1 month ago·1 pts

Good piece on how carbon capture projects land in communities. CF Industries is building a new ammonia plant and needs somewhere to put the CO2. Residents are not opposing carbon capture in the abstract, they are worried about a 50 mile line running behind homes and past schools with no clear safety plan.