By Renee’ Savant | CO₂ Chronicles

A Texas company is trying to turn central Louisiana into ground zero for one of the largest carbon dumping grounds in America. CapturePoint, backed by billions in federal subsidies, is racing to establish its “Central Louisiana Regional Carbon Storage Hub” across Vernon and Rapides Parishes — a project that could bury over 2 billion tons of CO₂ beneath our communities.

On paper, it looks like progress: federal 45Q tax credits pay $85 per ton of CO₂ stored, fueling what amounts to a modern-day carbon gold rush. Behind the upbeat press releases, though, locals see something very different: a company showering communities with money, perks, and promises while hiding risks and steamrolling opposition.

As one Vernon Parish resident put it bluntly:

“It’s like they’re in a mad rush for those tax credit dollars, and we’re the guinea pigs.”

Buying Goodwill: Carbon Cash for Schools and Officials

From the very beginning, CapturePoint has flooded Vernon Parish with money. New school programs. Career training initiatives. Sponsorships framed as “investments in the future.” On the surface, it looks like generosity — but to many, it looks like corporate bribery designed to soften resistance.

• School Board Partnership: CapturePoint partnered with Vernon Parish schools and a local labor union to launch its “Capturing Better Futures” program. Slick PR videos painted it as a win-win.
  
  
• Mississippi Example: The company paid nearly $10,000 to send a high school sports team to summer camp in a neighboring state where future storage sites are planned.
  
  

One parent cut through the spin:

“They think if they throw enough money at our schools, we’ll shut up about the carbon bombs they want to bury under us.”

A Stunning Flip-Flop: What Changed?

The Vernon Parish Police Jury once stood firmly against CO₂ injection. In November 2024, the jury voted to object until impacts were better understood. At that time, Police Jury President Jim Tuck noted no company had offered any real compensation or benefits.

But now, less than a year later, some jurors have gone quiet or even flipped their stance. What changed?

Rumors swirl of a $3 million “funding offer” dangled before the Police Jury. Community watchdogs suspect that CapturePoint’s strategy is simple: fatten school budgets, grease local projects, and eventually bring officials into line.

The Carbon Capture Playbook

What’s happening in Vernon isn’t unique — it’s straight out of the industry’s national strategy.

• Write Checks: Fund schools, youth sports, or civic projects.
  
  
• Control the Narrative: Fill local media with glowing coverage while dismissing critics as “fearmongers.”
  
  
• Divide & Conquer: Reward certain landowners with lease deals, creating a pro-project faction.
  
  
• Dangle Big Promises: Jobs and “community development funds” for those who play ball.
  
  

CapturePoint boasts that communities with projects are “glad they have them, and communities without projects wish they did.” But in Vernon Parish, many see it for what it is: manipulation dressed up as charity.

The Question That Won’t Go Away

Why are local officials enabling a project so many residents don’t want? At town halls and on Facebook forums, the same questions echo:

• What did our leaders promise CapturePoint behind closed doors?
  
  
• Who benefits when our parish becomes a carbon dumping ground?
  
  

The more the money flows, the more those questions grow louder.

Part 1 showed how Capture Point floods parishes with cash to buy influence. But the real danger lies in what they’re hiding. In Part 2, CO₂ Chronicles uncovers the story they don’t want you to see:

• Redacted Safety Plans: Entire sections of CapturePoint’s emergency response strategy are blacked out. If a pipeline ruptures or a well blows, the public won’t know what to do — because the company won’t let us read the plan.
  
  
• CO₂ Leak Disasters: From Satartia, Mississippi (2020), where cars stalled and children collapsed, to Sulphur, Louisiana (2023), where families were told of a leak by social media instead of alarms — the risks are very real, and they are being repeated.
  
  
• Corporate Web of Collaborators: CapturePoint isn’t acting alone. They’ve quietly partnered with major oil & gas players to funnel in CO₂ from refineries and gas plants — and in some cases, through front companies and shell entities that make it hard to track who’s really behind the push. We’ll follow the money and expose the hidden hands steering this so-called “carbon storage hub.”
  
  
• Community Betrayal: While citizens demand answers, local and state officials have killed bills that would give parishes the right to veto these projects. Behind those decisions? Lobbyists, donations, and promises of “community funds” that never seem to materialize.
  
  

“They can say it’s ‘just CO₂’ all day — that doesn’t matter when a pipeline explodes or a well fails.” – Local advocate

🚨 This isn’t just a fight over pipelines — it’s a web of corporations, shell fronts, and politicians working hand-in-hand to turn central Louisiana into a carbon sacrifice zone.

👉 Don’t miss Part 2. Subscribe now for $4.99/month to unlock the full exposé and support independent watchdog journalism they can’t buy off.

Poisoned Promises: The Secret Partners Behind Louisiana’s Carbon Capture Scheme (Part 2)

By Renee’ Savant | CO₂ Chronicles