GONZALES — Competing themes of safety and progress emerged Thursday at a DEQ hearing in Ascension Parish related to permits for Air Products’ carbon capture project, or the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex.
The project involves producing what’s called blue, or low-carbon, hydrogen and ammonia and pumping the carbon dioxide byproduct underground for miles to wells deep under Lake Maurepas.
MORE: Bill to block land seizures for carbon capture projects fails in House committee
Supports tout carbon capture and sequestration projects as an environmentally-friendly way to produce energy. Opponents say the process hasn’t been proven to be safe, and no one knows for sure what the long-term implications might be.
More than 200 people gathered at the banquet hall at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center on April 16 to share their positions on permits Air Products has requested.
“Can we pollute more air into your son’s playground”
Estefania and Matthew Aultman brought her 6-year-old son Lucas to the hearing. He goes to Sorrento Primary, which was cited by many of the speakers as a significant concern because it is about a half-mile away from the plant.
Estefania Aultman said the community recently raised money for playground improvements at the school.
“Now, standing here and Air Products, is asking us, can we pollute more air into your son’s playground,” she said. “The flares of this facility are what I’m most concerned about. They would be the closest to the school, less than a mile. I’ve worked at a plant before. Flares are scary. The flare release can be so strong that it literally makes the ground shake.”
She said the community is not prepared for the dangers of a leak, release or pipeline rupture of spewing carbon dioxide. A volunteer fire station is nearby but the closest fully-staffed station is 18 minutes away from the school. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air so it sinks, and many of those at the hearing were concerned that emergency responders couldn’t get to children or other high-risk populations before the catastrophic effects of carbon dioxide displacing oxygen at ground level took hold.
Ascension neighborhood concerns
Several speakers highlighted a 2020 carbon dioxide pipeline rupture in Satartia, Miss., where dozens of people had to be taken to hospitals. First responders were unprepared for the oxygen displacement, which killed vehicle engines and hampered rescue efforts.
Residents of Pelican Point subdivision, mostly retired people, had similar concerns for themselves and neighbors with breathing problems or limited mobility.
Cathy Maddox said she lives in the “kill zone” that could be affected quickly if a disaster happens.
“These are not hypothetical dangers. These are recent, documented, and there’s a lot more,” she said. “I am deeply alarmed not only by the threat of the pipeline leaks, but also the additional hydrogen or ammonia pollution in our immediate area. It will generate foul odors and toxic conditions to a community already burdened by Cancer Alley. Ascension Parish is the most ammonia-saturated parish in the state of Louisiana, already releasing millions of pounds of toxic chemicals.”
Barry Bourgeois, a lifelong Ascension Parish resident, said he was a safety director for one of the local plants and was an original member of the Community Awareness Emergency Response committee that helped prepare hazardous materials emergency plans for the parish. He opposes the permits.
“We cannot responsibly approve this project while critical safety research is canceled, key regulations have been withdrawn and independent modeling shows unacceptable risk schools and neighborhoods,” he said.
“Plants like Air Products saved my family”
Several people told DEQ they support the project, mostly citing economic development and high-paying jobs.
Wes Broussard said he grew up in Ascension Parish and didn’t think he’d ever want to work for any of the plants. At one point, he worked for a nonprofit organization that couldn’t make ends meet. He reluctantly talked to a family member, who helped him get work at a plant.
“Plants like Air Products – though I understand there are real concerns, don’t get me wrong – saved my family,” he said.
He said many people are in the same position now.
“They need jobs and facilities to go work at, just like I did, and I’m grateful forever for the petrochemical industry because it saved my family from poverty. It really did,” he said.
Ascension Parish Chamber of Commerce President Donnie Miller, said his organization supports the project.
“We sit at the center of one of the most important industrial corridors in the country, and the decisions we make today will shape whether we continue to compete for investment, for jobs and for innovation, or those opportunities will move elsewhere,” he said.
Livingston Parish’s councilman present & against carbon capture
Livingston Parish Councilman Dean Coates was the only elected official who spoke at the hearing.
“We’re often told the carbon captures and storage – CCS – is a bridge to a clear future, but if we look at the data, it is a bridge on unstable ground. This project is expensive, unproven. It prioritizes corporate profits over the ecology of the of the lake and the wetlands, and over people’s personal rights to their properties,” Coates said.
Livingston: Resolution opposing Class VI carbon capture wells unanimously approved
Public comment on the permits continues until May 5. Comments can be submitted four ways:
- DEQ web site
- DEQ email
- Paper mail to LDEQ Public Participation Group, P.O. Box 4313, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4313
- Hand delivery to 602 N. 5th Street in Baton Rouge.
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