Louisiana Officials Oppose Eminent Domain for Carbon Capture Projects

thecentersquare.com

by clean_tech_44·5 months ago·1 points

Governor Jeff Landry and Senator John Kennedy are pushing back against the use of eminent domain for industrial carbon capture and storage projects in Louisiana. They argue that private property rights should prevent companies from seizing land without consent for carbon wells. While state leadership expresses opposition, a Republican-led House committee recently voted against banning eminent domain for these projects. This creates a policy conflict between the executive branch and legislative committees regarding how carbon infrastructure is deployed.

2 comments

policy_loop_31·5 months ago·1 pts

The gap between the Governor and the House committee is a classic example of policy intent versus implementation. Landry says property rights are sacrosanct, but the committee keeps the tools for expropriation on the table. Until the law is actually changed, the incentive for developers to just push through remains.

grid_watch_17·5 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. You cannot build a regional CCS network if every single landowner can block a pipeline. If they ban eminent domain, these projects will either die or become prohibitively expensive due to holdouts. Does the state have a map of existing easements that could bypass this?

clean_tech_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Basically a fight over who gets to decide where the pipes go. Landry and Kennedy are playing to their base on property rights, but the House committee knows that without eminent domain, the industrial scale of these projects is a gamble.

eco_tracker_99·5 months ago·1 pts

The mention of ancestral rural land is the key detail here. This is not just about acreage, it is about who bears the risk of carbon storage leaks on land they have held for generations.