Louisiana
Weakened carbon storage regulations advance from Louisiana House • Louisiana Illuminator
Louisiana House lawmakers advanced a watered-down proposal Tuesday to bring more public oversight and safety guidelines to carbon storage projects after the state allowed drilling within an environmentally recovering ecosystem despite widespread opposition from residents and local governments.
House Bill 516, sponsored by Rep. Shane Mack, R-Albany, cleared the lower chamber without objection as floor proceedings wound down following hours of debate on so-called “culture war” bills.
Although Mack’s bill picked up a floor amendment that essentially overhauled the proposal, it did not draw a single question from the 100 or so lawmakers preparing to adjourn for the day.
The bill is essentially a continuation of what the freshman legislator worked on as a Livingston Parish Council member, which included a parishwide moratorium on injection wells and requiring carbon storage projects to be placed in industrial areas.
The Livingston council’s efforts came in response to a widespread and consistent public outcry over two large carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects. CCS is a process by which an industrial plant traps its carbon dioxide emissions and pipes them deep below the earth’s surface, permanently storing the gas in rock formations.
One project from chemical giant Air Products involves drilling wells in Lake Maurepas to store carbon dioxide, piped over from its facility in Ascension Parish, about a mile below the lake bed. The other from Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum, is planned for the Holden area.
A federal court eventually struck down Livingston’s moratorium, ruling that authority over such projects lies with the Louisiana Legislature rather than local governments.
After winning a state house seat last year, Mack is seeking to address the issue with House Bill 516, which is a relatively comprehensive proposal that would have, under its initial version, allowed some local control over CCS projects. It included requiring companies to adopt emergency response plans with public training and community outreach regarding evacuation plans.
Lake Maurepas carbon capture project draws increasing opposition
Another provision would have prevented the state from issuing any Class VI well permits for a project not in compliance with local zoning ordinances. It also would have required companies to perform additional groundwater testing for contaminants and made the data subject to Louisiana’s Public Records Law.
Mack said his primary reasons for bringing the bill are to try to ensure CCS projects are safe for the community and transparent to the public.
A floor amendment from Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, gutted most of those provisions from the bill.
Mack’s proposal ran into some obstacles early. During an April 4 hearing in the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, Riser expressed concern that some proposed aspects might be inconsistent with federal regulations and could deter international investment into other pending CCS projects across the state.
“This is such a large investment that we do not want to interrupt it on a global basis raising the money,” he said.
Riser was mainly concerned about a provision that would require a company to file detailed maps of the project with the parish clerk of court, showing the locations of all the injection wells, among other things. Mack said that section of the bill was not as important to him as others and agreed to accept an amendment from Riser on the House floor Tuesday to address it.
Mack was more protective of a requirement that carbon storage wells have a setback of 2 miles from the corporate limits of any municipality, residences, schools and hospitals. But pro-industry lawmakers on the committee wanted to slash the setback by 95%, amending it to 500 feet. The dispute went to a vote that settled it in favor of the 500-foot setback.
Riser’s floor amendment made another slash at the setback, removing the entire provision as it applied to the corporate limits of a municipality. Its current version keeps it at 500 feet for inhabited dwellings, schools and hospitals.
The amendment also deleted all mention of local zoning ordinances, removing the power Mack sought to give local governments.
Also gone is the provision that would have required groundwater testing data to be subject to public records law. Riser’s amendment replaced it after the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources voiced concern with it. The new version would require testing twice per year but removes all references to the data being a public record, a key part of the bill Rep. Jason Dewitt, R-Boyce, wanted to see implemented.
“Let’s make sure we have plenty of transparency with all the departments that are gonna be involved in this and that the public has access to the data,” Dewitt said. “And let’s educate [the public] on that and make sure they understand how to get the data.”
The bill next heads to the Senate for consideration.
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Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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