Speakers at Grand Lake meeting voice carbon capture concerns

Published 11:29 am Monday, August 4, 2025

Residents of Grand Lake, Cameron Parish and Southwest Louisiana met last week at Grand Lake High School to discuss the future of carbon capture in Southwest Louisiana. The meeting had two guest speakers, both of whom are against the push for carbon capture and storage.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a clear gas composed of one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is one of many molecules where carbon is commonly found on the Earth, according to the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the separation and capture of carbon dioxide from the emissions of industrial processes prior to release into the atmosphere and storage of the CO2 in deep underground geologic formations.

CCS is a way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, according to www.nationalgrid.com.

Keith Guillory, an Oberlin resident, is a part of the “We the People” organization. He first heard about CCS in January and the organization was formed shortly after among a group of residents in Allen Parish who were concerned about what they were hearing.

“We feel it’s important to support each other, individual groups are fine, but if we can work together it will be more effective,” Guillory said.

Guillory said he’s done a lot of research and homework and said he’s done more research on this than his last two years at McNeese State University. According to him, the unknown effects of CCS play a big factor in his concerns.

“ ‘Experts’ seem to speak on how they know it will behave, but the fact is it has rarely been done before,” he said.

He is also concerned about the CCS migrating beyond its boundaries and poisoning the aquifers and all that it will affect in the future.

“I know my land will be worthless because it would be hazardous waste under my property, and if we don’t have clean water we’re doomed,” he said.

Carolyn Miller and Phyllis Doxey, residents of Grand Lake, came to the meeting to hear what CCS is all about. Neither had been to a meeting regarding it before and wanted to see for themselves what all the talk is about. They said they’ve seen it talked about on their Facebook feeds and have seen people for it and also people highly against it.

“My biggest concern is it leaking into our drinking water and into the marshes,” Miller said.

“We want to see some actual facts on how this is going to work and what it will do in our parish,” Doxey said.

Michael Nichols, a Pitkin resident and speaker at the meeting, has been in natural resources and management for over 40 years and is a water resource specialist for the USDA in Alexandria.

“Your peace and tranquility is going to be gone because you can smell natural gas, but you can’t smell this,” Nichols said.

He said the biggest reason he’s doing this is for his grandchildren and their future. Nichols said the land he and his family live on has been in the family for over four generations, but if CCS is put in the ground he lives on he will be moving.

“This is the fight for our future,” he said.

Jon West, a Leesville resident and a 20-year Army veteran with a bachelor’s in environmental management, spoke against CCS as well during the public meeting.

“The purpose of science is to question science,” West said.

West, along with Nichols, answered questions from the public following the meeting.

A carbon capture public meeting and question-and-answer session will be held in Ragley on Aug. 5. The meeting will be held at the South Beauregard Recreation District Community Center at 5:30 p.m.