Environmental Groups Challenge Louisiana's Primacy Over Class VI Injection Wells

Environmental groups are asking the federal appellate courts to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recent decision to grant Louisiana primacy over Class VI injection wells.

On February 22^nd, three environmental groups, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Healthy Gulf, and Alliance for Affordable Energy, filed a petition with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans requesting that the Court "hold unlawful, vacate, and set aside" the final rule which approved Louisiana's 2021 application for primacy.

The environmental groups, represented by Earth Justice, believe that the state's program ran by the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR) is less stringent than the EPA's program and hope to have permitting authority returned to the federal government. One concern the groups have is that the carbon dioxide may leak into the environment, including underground sources of drinking water.