Tenaska representatives outlined plans for the Live Oak CCS Hub to landowners and community members at a town hall at the Port Allen Community Center on Dec. 4, presenting technical details of a carbon capture and storage project that would span West Baton Rouge and Iberville Parishes.

The project would inject captured carbon dioxide more than a mile underground into geological formations west of Addis. According to the company's presentation, the 30-year plume boundary covers approximately 4,500 acres, with surface infrastructure limited to about seven acres for two injection wells and five monitoring wells.

"We're here trying to do a project," said Jesse Fruman, Tenaska's senior director of development. "We have an idea, and we submitted it to the state Department of Conservation and Energy for review. But there's a long way from today to construction to actual implementation."

The company said 90 to 94 percent of landowners within the project boundary have signed lease agreements.

How It Works

Ryan Choquette, Tenaska's engineering director, explained that the injection zone sits in the Lower Miocene Sand formation at approximately 5,500 feet below the surface. Freshwater aquifers exist in the top 550 feet, with the base of underground sources of drinking water at 2,300 to 2,500 feet.

"The shale is very thick in this location," Choquette said. "I also look for good sandstone. Here we've got 4,000 feet of world-class sandstone that is an excellent area to hold the carbon dioxide."

Class VI permits, which govern carbon storage wells, are "the most stringent of anything they have," Choquette said, covering everything from site selection to post-operation monitoring.

The company must identify and plug all legacy wells within the project boundary before operations begin. Choquette said the project area contains fewer than 20 such wells because the site was chosen to avoid areas with historical oil and gas drilling.

Federal regulations require 50 years of monitoring after injection stops. Tenaska must post financial security as part of the permit to guarantee those obligations.

Safety Questions

When asked about worst-case scenarios, Ryan described automatic shutoff valves on pipelines that would activate "in three minutes or less" if a leak is detected. The pipeline will be built with thicker steel than required and designed to handle 2,200 PSI, above the expected operating pressure of 1,400 PSI.

"It's not zero risk, but vis-à-vis lots of the other industry that already exists in the area — the natural gas, chemicals, ammonia — it's night and day," Fruman said. "You can't have an explosion. You can't have a fire. You could have a leak and we would detect and fix it."

The company said the chance of a leak reaching the aquifer "in sufficient quantities" to cause long-term problems is "astronomically small."

Economic Projections

An economic impact study conducted by Loren C. Scott & Associates projects the following regional benefits:

During construction (3 years):

• $690.6 million in new sales
• Average of 332 new jobs per year
• $11.6 million in new local tax revenue

During operations (annually):

• $36.5 million in new sales
• 224 new jobs
• $4.1 million in new local tax revenue

These figures represent combined impacts for West Baton Rouge and Iberville Parishes. WBR Independent has asked Tenaska to specify what portion of jobs and tax revenue would go to West Baton Rouge. The company had not responded by publication.

Community Response

Anna Johnson, then-executive director of the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, said the project reflects the parish's openness to economic development.

"This project demonstrates the type of economic development that spurs from a community that welcomes growth and innovation," Johnson said. "Projects like this bring benefits to landowners and can generate millions of dollars in local property tax revenue back to the Parish."

Johnson said Tenaska has been "actively engaging with the Chamber, Parish officials and local stakeholders for months," including ongoing conversations about hiring local workers and local partnerships.

Parish Moratorium

The West Baton Rouge Parish Council passed a moratorium on carbon capture projects in unincorporated areas on May 22, 2025, by an 8-1 vote. Resolution 13 of 2025 remains in effect until the Council votes to lift it.

Tenaska representatives did not mention the moratorium during the town hall presentation. The company filed its Class VI permit application before Governor Jeff Landry's October 15, 2025 state moratorium on new applications, meaning the project can continue through the state review process.

On Monday, December 1, Council Chairman Carey Denstel posted on social media that he was unaware of the meeting. He then shared the event, encouraging residents to attend and ask questions. Denstel met with Tenaska representatives earlier on December 4 but did not attend the evening public event. Councilman Crowe was present.

Two days earlier, on December 2, the group Save My Louisiana hosted a separate public town hall at Island Golf Course where speakers raised concerns about pipeline safety, property rights, and long-term liability.

What's Next

Tenaska submitted its Class VI permit application to the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy in 2024, and the application was deemed administratively complete. The company expects one to two years of back-and-forth technical review before final approval.

"When we do this presentation again in three months or six months or 12 months, don't be surprised if something changes," Fruman said.

The company opened a local office at 309 South Vaughn Street in Brusly, with office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 to 11 a.m. Residents can also contact the project team at community@liveoakccs.com or visit liveoakccs.com.

WBR Independent submitted additional questions to Tenaska regarding pipeline proximity to schools and populated areas, local hiring commitments, community benefit agreements, and emergency notification procedures. The company had not responded by publication.

Part 2: Opposition voices — coverage of the December 2 Save My Louisiana town hall in Plaquemine coming soon.