Biden administration grants Louisiana power to approve carbon capture wells

The Biden administration is granting Louisiana's request to administer its own permit program for wells that store carbon dioxide

The Biden administration is handing Louisiana regulators new power to attract and approve carbon capture projects at a time when the state’s influential energy sector wants to make the Gulf Coast a hub for the rapidly expanding industry.

Louisiana will be able to issue permits for wells that store carbon dioxide, a critical component of carbon capture and removal technology. In all but two other states, the Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for permitting. Proponents of the change say it will speed up approvals of new projects that are critical for reducing climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental groups had opposed the move, doubting that a state home to a concentrated stretch of oil, gas and petrochemical plants commonly called “cancer alley” is capable of proper industry oversight and protecting residents. The EPA said the Louisiana agreement includes safeguards to protect poorer, often majority-Black communities that live near those facilities — and that those standards will serve as a model for other states.

“It can be done in a way that builds in environmental justice principles that allow for the community to participate in the process and ensures that these communities are safe,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Thursday.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources declined to comment late Thursday.