Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area

The Maurepas Swamp has been dying for nearly 100 years, because levees have blocked it from the Mississippi River, depriving the swamp’s bald cypress and water tupelo trees of the river’s nutrients, oxygen and freshwater flow.

Maurepas Swamp’s upcoming reintroduction to the Mississippi River

Reconnecting the dying swamp to fresh river water is vital for the health of the swamp’s cypress-tupelo forest, which minimizes storm surge damage for communities in St. John the Baptist, St. James, Ascension and Livingston Parishes.

A task force appointed by the Louisiana Senate Committee on Natural Resources has held a series of meetings to gather comments from the public, industry and experts on the local impacts of carbon capture and sequestration. The group is tasked with submitting a report to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources by Feb. 15.

Coastal Desk

Public outcry against carbon capture in Louisiana growing

Terry L. Jones (Floodlight)

Some activists worry that the daytime state task force hearings in Baton Rouge on the issue are missing important voices from affected Black communities.

Coastal Desk

Carbon capture bills, spurred by residents' concerns, make it to committee; not all move forward

Halle Parker

The House natural resources committee was divided on Tuesday after hearing the first round of bills that would tighten restrictions on carbon capture projects in Louisiana.Republican lawmakers from the Florida Parishes filed nine bills this session in response to local backlash against a major project that would store carbon dioxide about a mile beneath Lake Maurepas, a recreational and cultural hub for the area. On Tuesday, the committee heard five of those bills.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc. has hired 25 lobbyists ahead of the Louisiana Legislature’s regulation session this year. The company has proposed a controversial carbon capture project in Ascension Parish.

Coastal Desk

This company has hired 25 lobbyists for the Louisiana legislative session

Julie O'Donoghue (Louisiana Illuminator)

A Pennsylvania company and global leader in carbon capture technology hired 25 lobbyists ahead of the Louisiana Legislature’s regular lawmaking session this year as the business faces a slew of bills meant to push back on its “blue hydrogen” plant proposed for Ascension Parish.

A boat filled with news media, state officials and coastal advocates chug down the Blind River in Maurepas Swamp during a tour on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

Coastal Desk

This Louisiana swamp is dying, but a new, unprecedented partnership can help restore it

Halle Parker

New trees are few and far between, and the ones there are struggling to stay alive. If the trend continues, Louisiana could lose one of its largest freshwater swamps and a major buffer between Baton Rouge and hurricanes.

Air Products' carbon capture facility in Port Arthur, Texas.

Coastal Desk

World’s leading hydrogen company sues Louisiana parish over carbon capture project

Halle Parker

The world’s leading hydrogen supplier sued Livingston Parish last week over local attempts to block the company from storing carbon from its proposed $4.5 billion plant beneath Lake Maurepas.Despite the threat of expensive litigation, some parish leaders say they want to fight the multibillion-dollar company in court to protect the swamp.

News

State Buys Wetlands with Oil Spill Settlement Funds

The Associated Press

The state has acquired more than 11,000 acres of wetlands in Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes as part of a conservation project funded by a settlement…

Coastal Desk

Maurepas Swamp WMA reopens after Isaac cleanup

The Associated Press

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has reopened the Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area, which closed before Hurricane Isaac's…