Louisiana Receives Its First Class VI Carbon Capture Permit

Louisiana's Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR) issued the state's first Class VI permit authorizing the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into underground formations for storage. Issued in connection with a carbon sequestration project in Hackberry, Louisiana, the permit authorizes the injection of up to 2 million metric tons of CO2/year for 20 years. There are currently 43 proposed carbon capture and sequestration projects in Louisiana, one of the few states to be awarded primary enforcement authority (or primacy) for the regulation of Class VI injection wells by the federal EPA. This means that, unlike many other states, the LDENR is in charge of the permit application review and approval process, allowing for more local control over proposed projects. Although the Hackberry approval is the culmination of a nearly 1.5-year permitting process, subsequent permitting actions should benefit from the LDNR's early rigorous review process, reducing