Louisiana Carbon Capture Plan Misses EPA Standards, Court Told

The EPA’s decision to let Louisiana govern carbon capture well permits could cause “catastrophic harms” to drinking water because the state’s regulatory scheme isn’t as stringent as the federal government’s, environmental groups said in an opening brief.

Louisiana’s recently approved Class VI injection well permitting program doesn’t measure up to federal regulations because it releases carbon capture developers from liability for wells after they’re full, according to the brief filed in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

A state’s carbon capture permitting program must be at least as stringent as the Environmental Protection Agency’s to gain ...