Legislation Would Give Parishes Control Over Carbon Capture

(The Center Square) – Louisiana parishes would have a say in how carbon capture and sequestration projects are approved and developed in their jurisdictions under bills filed by Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican who represents Pineville and serves as acting House Speaker in the state legislature.

“These bills are about fairness, property rights, and respect for local voices,” Johnson said in a statement. “No private company should have the power to force a family off their land, and no community should be sidelined when decisions directly affect their parish.”

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The regulation of carbon capture and sequestration, a combination of technologies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide emitted at large industrial plants and storing it permanently deep underground, has been a contentious political issue in recent months.

In October, Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order directing state regulators to suspend consideration of permits on new projects. No end date has been set for the moratorium.

One of Johnson’s bills would prohibit the use of eminent domain, the legal power that allows the government to take private land for public or commercial use, even against the owner's will, for use in carbon capture and sequestration.

Another bill creates a statewide local option that allows parish authorities or voters to decide if carbon capture and storage projects are allowed in their communities.

The bills’ co-sponsors include Reps. Gabe Firment, Jason DeWitt, Rhonda Butler, Rodney Shamerhorn and Chuck Owen, all Republicans.

In November, the nonprofit group Save My Louisiana filed a lawsuit in the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish challenging the constitutionality of state laws granting eminent domain for private carbon capture and sequestration projects.

The lawsuit alleges current laws violate the Louisiana and U.S. constitutions by allowing unlawful takings, improper delegation of authority and violations of due process.