Our friends at Healthy Gulf have issued an action alert regarding ExxonMobil’s recent application for a Coastal Use Permit for a carbon waste injection test well at Pecan Island in Vermillion Parish, Louisiana. Head on over to their handy form to send a letter to Andi Zachary (Coastal Resources Scientist in Louisiana Department of Natural Resource’s Office of Coastal Management). You’ll find my personal letter below.
Hey there, Andi!
I hope this message finds you well. Wanted to have a friendly chat about something that’s been on my mind – that whole carbon waste injection thing. Now, I ain’t no expert, but it seems like plugging them broken wells might be a smarter move. You know, according to the Louisiana Climate Action Plan, fixing up them wells and giving a little love to our wetlands could do wonders for the climate, and do it quicker too.
Funny thing is, ExxonMobil’s got a hold of that Denbury pipeline gear that could make this whole project shimmy out of our precious coastal zone. Seems to me that the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources might want to give that pipeline a thought – you know, before we go sacrificin’ our beautiful coast for this waste injection hoopla.
Now, speaking of surveys, seems like a bunch of them inactive wells are letting out a bit of that sneaky methane. So, before we go all in on carbon waste injections and whatnot, seems like LDNR should be giving those leaky wells a proper fix and tell them stripper wells to stop their venting dance. The climate plan seems to put fixing those wells right up there on the priority list.
And here’s the thing – LDNR’s been kind of slipping when it comes to looking at the not-so-direct impacts of all them drilling canals and pipelines. It’s like those little impacts could be adding up to a heap of wetland loss. Can’t ignore that, especially when the Grophes Island area is seeing marshes wave goodbye due to them canals.
LDNR’s gotta put on their big boots and make sure them big companies like ExxonMobil follow the rules. Coastal Use Permit obligations, plugging them wells, and giving them canals a good old backfill – that’s what needs to happen. We can’t just keep handing out permits if folks ain’t playing by the rules, right?
Now, how about this – reckon bringing in the likes of Freeport McMoran, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips to follow the rules might actually make more wetlands and trap more carbon than blowing up land and fishing spots for some underground waste injection shindig.
And get this, ExxonMobil’s got their hands on Denbury Resources. So, they could be using them pipelines to move that CO2 around without making a whole mess of new stuff. Seems like a pretty darn good idea if it means less fuss over that Enlink P20230173 pipeline and this new project. If we can move most of the mess away from our coastal zone, well, that sounds like a win-win to me.
But hey, let’s not forget about our Louisiana Tribal Groups. They oughta have a say in this too, don’t you think? More voices in the mix can’t hurt, especially when we’re talking about that Chitimacha Reservation and CO2 plumes. Remember that Denbury pipeline blowout? Yeah, that plume reached pretty far, and that reservation ain’t too far off from where all this CO2 might be going.
Now, before I wrap this up, how about we have ourselves a good old fashioned sit-down? A hearing in New Iberia or Franklin sounds just right. Let them local fishers and folks from the community have their say. LDNR can’t be making moves without hearing from the folks who know these waters like the back of their hand.
Appreciate your time and reckon this issue’s worth a good ponder.
Take care now,
Bart Everson
