ENERGY: Authorizes the governing authority of Sabine Parish to determine whether carbon dioxide sequestration and pipelines transporting carbon dioxide may be permitted within the parish

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Larry Bagley and 1 co-sponsor

Sabine Parish can locally ban or permit CO2 injection wells, geologic storage, and CO2 pipelines, overriding state permits within the parish.

Involuntarily deferred in committee.

Summary of HB 504 (Louisiana, 2026)

Purpose and intent

HB 504 authorizes the governing authority of Sabine Parish to decide, by local ordinance or resolution, whether carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration activities and related pipelines may be permitted within the parish.

The bill acknowledges Sabine Parish’s prior opposition to CO2 sequestration activities, citing a parish resolution adopted March 19, 2025.

Key provisions and changes

Local option authority (new R.S. 30:4(C)(17)(c), 1104(F), and 1104.3):

Empowers Sabine Parish to determine if the following activities may be located within the parish:
Class VI injection wells (used for CO2 storage)
Geologic sequestration of CO2
Pipelines transporting CO2
The parish may use ordinances or resolutions to prohibit or permit these activities.

Notification requirement:

If Sabine Parish passes a resolution or ordinance, the governing authority must provide a copy to the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (the “department”).

Preemption and effectiveness:

Any local prohibition adopted by Sabine Parish becomes effective upon adoption.
A local determination by Sabine Parish supersedes any conflicting state law, regulation, order, permit, or certificate.
Local action is intended to prevent vesting rights or grandfathered authority inconsistent with the parish prohibition.

Severability:

If any provision is invalid, the rest remain in effect (severability clause).

Effective date:

The act becomes effective upon the governor’s signature or, if not signed, upon expiration of the gubernatorial action period, with transition rules as described in the Louisiana Constitution.

Who is affected

Sabine Parish residents and landowners, local government officials, and any entities seeking to establish CO2 injection wells, CO2 geologic storage, or CO2 pipelines within Sabine Parish.

The Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy, which would receive notification of local ordinances and must respect the local determination in the sense of not granting permits inconsistent with parish action.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Local option authority is exercised by Sabine Parish through a resolution or ordinance.

Any local action takes effect upon adoption.

The department must be notified of the local action.

The bill references existing local option procedures (Chapter 11 of the Subtitle) and creates statutory exceptions to the department’s authority on activities prohibited by local action.

Status history: Involuntarily deferred in committee (as of May 19, 2026); originally introduced in 2026 session and prefiled February 2026.

Practical impact

The bill shifts decision-making on CO2 injection wells, CO2 sequestration, and CO2 pipelines from statewide regulatory authority to Sabine Parish’s local government, effectively allowing the parish to block or permit such activities within its borders.

It creates a mechanism for local policy to override state-level permitting in Sabine Parish, subject to the local option process and notification to the department.

If you’d like, I can compare this bill to existing state-wide regulations or summarize potential regulatory and economic implications for Sabine Parish and nearby jurisdictions.