The 2025 Louisiana Legislative Session will officially begin on Monday, April 14. Twenty bills have been filed on carbon capture sequestration in Louisiana. The bills range from:
- allowing each parish to decide whether to allow CCS in its parish;
- eliminating eminent domain for all CCS pipelines;
- taxing CCS;
- increasing requirements and reporting on both CCS storage facilities and pipelines;
- requiring the compensation of mineral rights owners.
Read a brief overview of each proposed bill below:
House Bills:
- HB 4 (Owen) Local Option – each parish can vote on allowing CCS in its parish
- HB 75 (McCormick) Any pore space owner forced pooled/unitized will receive the highest compensation paid to any other owner
- HB 78 (Carrier) Local option for Allen Parish to choose CCS
- HB 250 & 251 (Owen) Local option for Vernon & Beauregard Parishes
- HB 304 (Carter) Expropriation hearings are to be held in parish where property is located
- HB 353 (Mack)
- (1) Adds requirement for a storage operator to receive a certificate of public convenience and necessity to show the lack of producing minerals below the storage reservoir;
- (2) Adds civil and criminal penalties if a storage operator does not provide required reports;
- (3) Requires emergency plan relating to CCS pipelines;
- (4) Requires storage operator and transporter to provide emergency equipment to local responders;
- (5) Requires storage operator to have financial security or insurance to protect public water systems
- (6) Adds strict liability to storage operator or transporter for any damages caused by unauthorized release of CO2
- (7) Prohibits injection wells and pipelines within 1/2 mile of homes, schools, heath care facilities, houses of worship;
- (8) Requires advance notice of construction of injection well or pipeline to all residences, business, and gov't entities within 2-mile radius
- (9) Requires remediation plan for groundwater contamination
- (10) Requires continuous monitoring of all underground drinking water sources
- (11) Requires routine sampling and testing of public water system by a third party, upon request
- (12) Requires alternative potable drinking water within 24 hours and alternative water supply within 30 days if drinking water is contaminated
- HB 380 (Schamerhorn) Eliminates eminent domain for CCS storage and pipelines
- HB 396 (McCormick) Declares CCS illegal
- HB 444 (Mack) Establishes injection tax of $3 per metric ton for parish where CO2 is stored; also provides collection procedures
- HB 522 (McCormick) Places moratorium on CCS in Louisiana until July 1, 2026
- HB 537 (Schamerhorn) Creates a carbon dioxide pipeline victim lien for anyone within 25-mile radius of a pipeline release
- HB 552 (Schamerhorn) Levies an excise tax on CCS pipelines at 5 cents per mile for parish(es) where pipeline is located
- HB 553 (Schamerhorn) Eliminates eminent domain for CCS pipelines
- HB 568 (Carrier) Adds reporting requirements for CCS pipeline leaks, seismic activity related to CCS injections, and CCS equipment malfunction that could lead to a release; and related penalties for failure to report
- HB 585 (McCormick) Requires advance notice to all owners (surface, mineral, servitude, operators) within the AOR before a Class VI can be deemed administratively complete
- HB 601 (Geymann) Limits right of eminent domain for CCS pipelines to 5% of the proposed right of way (i.e, need 95% by consent to use eminent domain); Limits right of eminent domain to US companies; Requires additional upfront notice to landowners that eminent domain cannot be used without 95% consent by all owners; Requires the Commissioner to consider whether CCS pipeline considered alternative routes for non-consensual landowners before issuing certificate of convenience and necessity
- HB 632 (Riser) Requires CCS storage operators to obtain pore space agreements from mineral rights owners; Requires mineral rights owners to be included in the 75% minimum for unitization; Requires mineral rights owners to be compensated if forced pooled via unitization proceeding; Includes mineral right owners in notices required to be given to landowners by CCS companies
Senate Bills:
- SB 36 (Hensgens) Placeholder bill
- SSB 73 (Reese) Requires the Commissioner to give "substantial consideration to local government comments" when determining whether to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a CCS storage facility or CCS pipeline
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
