Creates a special task force for the legislature to work with the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Louisiana Board of Regents to assess the capacity of government, industry, and academia to model the behavior of geologically sequestered carbon dioxide and to develop a method, if necessary
House Concurrent Resolution 67 creates a special legislative task force to evaluate whether Louisiana has an existing scientific method to model the movement and behavior of geologically sequestered carbon dioxide, especially carbon stored through Class VI underground injection wells used in carbon capture and sequestration projects. The resolution is tied to Louisiana’s new role as the primary enforcement authority for Class VI wells and the expected growth of carbon capture infrastructure in the state.
The task force would include representatives from the House and Senate natural resources committees, the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Louisiana Board of Regents. Its charge is to determine whether a reliable method already exists in government, industry, or academia to predict carbon dioxide behavior in different subsurface conditions, and if so, whether the state can access, trust, and afford it. If no such method exists, the task force must outline a timeline for state researchers to develop, beta test, and field test one.
The resolution does not change substantive state law or create regulatory requirements for carbon capture and sequestration permits. Instead, it establishes an advisory task force to inform future policy by assessing technical capacity, costs, and feasibility related to modeling carbon dioxide storage behavior. Its practical effect is to support state decision-making for Class VI well permitting, risk assessment, and potential investment in scientific tools or research partnerships.
The overall tone of the resolution is supportive of Louisiana’s carbon capture and sequestration program and reflects interest in strengthening the state’s technical and regulatory readiness. The bill frames the task force as a way to ensure that permitting decisions are grounded in reliable science and that the state can responsibly manage underground carbon storage. No committee debate or vote record is provided, so there is no documented opposition or recorded controversy in the available materials.
The main point of contention implied by the resolution is not whether carbon capture should occur, but whether Louisiana has, or can obtain, a sufficiently accurate model to predict carbon dioxide movement underground with a stated 95 percent degree of certainty. Potential concerns include the reliability and scientific validation of any existing model, whether the state should rely on private-sector tools, the cost of purchasing or developing such a method, and whether state agencies and universities have the capacity to build one if none exists. These issues would likely matter most to regulators, researchers, and stakeholders in the carbon sequestration industry.