This story was orginally published by the Louisiana Illuminator. Editor’s note from the Illuminator: The following commentary was submitted in response to a submission from Chad Hanks, “Farmer finds fears over carbon capture unwarranted,” June 9, 2026.

The recent defense of carbon capture and sequestration presents a familiar narrative: struggling farmers, economic opportunity and a promise that Louisiana’s future depends on embracing this new industry. 

It is a compelling story. Unfortunately, it is also incomplete.

No one disputes that farming is difficult. Commodity prices fluctuate. Input costs rise. Families fight every day to hold onto land that’s been in their family for generations. As a Louisiana landowner myself, I understand those pressures.

But the question before Louisiana is not whether farmers deserve opportunities. It’s whether citizens should surrender their property rights, public resources and local control so multinational corporations can bury millions of tons of industrial waste beneath our communities.

Supporters of carbon capture and sequestration often frame opposition as fear, misinformation, or “Facebook rumors.” Yet many of the people asking questions are engineers, geologists, attorneys, landowners, elected officials and citizens who have spent years studying the permits, legislation, regulatory filings and financial incentives driving this industry.

What concerns us is an industrial-scale system that relies on eminent domain, taxpayer subsidies, government mandates, regulatory favoritism and the permanent alteration of Louisiana’s subsurface property rights.

If carbon capture and sequestration is such a profitable and beneficial industry, why does it require billions in federal tax credits? Why does it require state laws granting private corporations the power to expropriate private property? Why does it require immunity protections and limitations on liability? Why does it depend on government intervention at every stage?

The answer is simple: The economics do not work without government assistance and the transfer of risk from corporations to Louisiana citizens.

Supporters frequently compare carbon dioxide pipelines to traditional oil and gas pipelines. That comparison ignores important facts. Oil and gas pipelines transport products with immediate economic value. CO2 pipelines transport waste streams for permanent disposal.

Supporters also compare industrial CO2 pipelines to sparkling water and fire extinguishers. That comparison misses the point. The issue is not the small amounts of carbon dioxide found in consumer products. These projects involve massive volumes of compressed industrial CO₂ transported through high-pressure pipelines and injected underground for permanent storage. Citizens have every right to examine the risks, long-term liability, and emergency response challenges associated with that scale of operation.

The Satartia, Mississippi, pipeline rupture demonstrated how a carbon dioxide release can create a ground-hugging cloud capable of incapacitating an entire community. First responders found themselves unprepared.

This is not fear-mongering. It is documented reality.

Many of the corporations seeking to build carbon storage projects in Louisiana are headquartered outside our state. Investment funds, multinational corporations and consulting firms promoting these projects are largely outside the communities where the pipelines and injection wells will be located.

Meanwhile, many of the citizens raising concerns are Louisiana landowners, farmers, business owners and local residents funding their own efforts, attending meetings on their own time and fighting to protect their property rights and communities.

This is not a battle between Louisiana and outside activists. In many cases, it is Louisiana citizens asking hard questions about projects being advanced by out-of-state corporations, investors and special interests.

What is perhaps most troubling is the coordinated effort underway to manufacture public acceptance. 

Across Louisiana, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, industry-funded associations, universities and government agencies have joined together under what has been described as a “whole of Louisiana” approach. Citizens are repeatedly told carbon storage is inevitable, opposition is anti-business, and that Louisiana must choose between CO2 sequestration and economic prosperity.

This is not a grassroots movement. It is a coordinated public relations campaign.

Citizens are rarely told that many of the organizations promoting carbon capture and sequestration stand to benefit from industrial expansion, grants, consulting contracts and economic incentive programs tied directly to these projects.

Chad Hanks’ commentary argues that opposing CCS projects somehow infringes upon a willing landowner’s rights. But what about the neighboring landowner who refuses to participate? What about landowners facing pipeline expropriation? What about future generations who inherit the risks long after today’s executives, politicians and lobbyists have moved on?

Property rights must apply equally to everyone, not just those who sign contracts.

Louisiana’s strength has always been its people, its natural resources and its independent spirit. We should welcome honest economic development. We should encourage manufacturing, innovation and energy production.

But we should never accept the false choice that Louisiana must become the nation’s carbon waste repository in order to survive.

Citizens have every right to ask hard questions before surrendering property rights, public resources and local control to an industry that would not exist without massive government subsidies.

We can support farmers without sacrificing landowners.

We can create jobs without surrendering property rights.

We can pursue economic growth without turning Louisiana into a permanent storage site for the emissions of the world’s largest corporations.

That isn’t anti-business. That’s common sense.

Gary Musgrove is president of Save My Louisiana, a grassroots organization focused on protecting private property rights, landowner interests and Louisiana’s natural resources. He is a lifelong Louisiana resident, landowner, small business owner and retired U.S. Air Force veteran.

Related

• The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for northwest Louisiana due to thunderstorms producing heavy rain.
• Shreveport Police responded to numerous stranded vehicles and traffic crashes, advising motorists to use extreme caution.
• Central Shreveport experienced significant flooding, with high water reported in areas not typically prone to it.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Shreveport issued a Flash Flood Warning just after noon Monday, June 15, for northwest Louisiana.

According to the NWS, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain and flash flooding for much of the region. The warning was initially issued until 3 p.m. but was extended until 3:45 p.m.

NWS said this flash flooding could impact small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.

Shreveport Police Department is reporting that since the rain began this morning, officers have responded to 53 calls for stranded or disabled vehicles and are investigating 24 traffic crashes.

“We are asking motorists to use extreme caution if you must travel,” Shreveport Police Department Public Information Officer Cpl. Chris Bordelon said. “Never attempt to drive through flooded roadways or high water. It only takes a small amount of moving water to sweep a vehicle off the roadway.”

Central parts of Shreveport are being heavily impacted. Shreveport business owner Bob Thames said, “I drove from my office downtown to Marilynn’s Place to check on the building. I had to take several detours. Streets that I’ve never seen flooded before were flooded.”

He continued, “The rapids flowing through Betty Virginia were unlike anything I’ve seen in my time in Shreveport. Bayou Pierre was higher than I’ve ever seen it. I was on the sidewalk warning people not to drive through Fern and Greenway Place.”

Thames stated he witnessed multiple cars get damaged this afternoon.

The Shreveport Police Department is reminding drivers that if you don’t have to be on the roads, stay home until conditions improve.

For more information: Flood watch issued for northwest Louisiana

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.