Requires a five hundred foot setback for carbon dioxide pipelines

House Bill 589 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:1113 by adding a new subsection B that establishes a five hundred foot setback requirement for the construction of carbon dioxide transport pipelines. The bill retains the existing subsection A, which already prohibits Class VI injection wellheads from being located within five hundred feet of inhabited dwellings, schools, and healthcare facilities. The new provision extends comparable siting restrictions specifically to pipelines designed to transport carbon dioxide, creating a parallel protective buffer zone around the same three categories of sensitive locations. The statute does not define what constitutes a pipeline for transport of carbon dioxide or provide exemptions or variance procedures, instead establishing an absolute prohibition on construction within the specified distance.

The practical effect of this legislation is to restrict where carbon dioxide transport pipeline infrastructure can be constructed throughout Louisiana. Companies engaged in carbon dioxide transportation or related industrial operations will be unable to site pipelines within five hundred feet of any inhabited dwelling, whether owner-occupied or not, as well as schools and healthcare facilities. This setback applies statewide and affects private landowners who may wish to permit such pipelines on their property, local governments that may have supported pipeline projects, and industries relying on carbon dioxide transport infrastructure, particularly those involved in enhanced oil recovery operations or carbon capture and storage initiatives. Conversely, residents, students, patients, and staff at the listed sensitive facilities gain increased distance protection from potential pipeline-related risks.

The bill operates within Louisiana's framework for regulating geological storage operations and pipeline siting, specifically modifying the siting requirements statute that had previously addressed only Class VI injection wellheads used in carbon dioxide storage. Class VI wells are federally regulated underground injection control wells authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act and Louisiana's implementing regulations. By paralleling the Class VI wellhead restrictions in the new pipeline provision, the legislation creates consistency between injection and transport infrastructure regulations. The statute does not address federal permitting authority over interstate pipelines or address whether this state requirement applies only to intrastate operations, leaving open questions about potential interaction with federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration jurisdiction over certain carbon dioxide pipelines.