What You Don't Know About CO2 Pipelines
Invisible Infrastructure, Imminent Threats
Hi friends,
I’ve told some of you about seeing the documentary, U.N.earthing the CO₂ Pipeline. What I learned tells a sad and frustrating story, even maddening. This isn’t green energy — it’s a land grab wrapped in climate buzzwords. Taxpayer dollars. Corporate profit. And it’s private property taken by force.
Most people don’t realize that carbon pipelines don’t just carry an invisible gas — they carry staggering demands on our electric grid and groundwater reserves. The pressure needed to keep CO₂ in its “supercritical” state requires massive compression facilities that guzzle electricity. Those same facilities often depend on millions of gallons of groundwater for cooling. Now layer that on top of the explosion in water- and energy-hungry data centers popping up across the country — and you have a perfect storm. CO₂ infrastructure is even prioritized above public water needs, because loss of cooling could mean pipeline rupture and toxic disaster. This isn’t just a land grab. It’s a power and water takeover — with life-threatening consequences.
The lessons here belong to every American.
This is our land, our water! Let’s fight to keep it.
Read on and stay tuned for more.
The Hidden Industry: What Carbon Capture Really Is
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is often portrayed as a cutting-edge climate solution. But when we strip away the green veneer, a far more complex—and risky—industrial network emerges.
This series begins by exploring what CCS actually entails, who is pushing it, and why. The federal government accelerated these efforts under the Biden administration’s aggressive ‘green’ agenda. Today, even as the Trump administration shifts focus toward traditional energy support, companies benefiting from legacy subsidies are racing to build a pipeline web that remains mostly hidden from public view.
What Is Carbon Capture and Sequestration?
Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) involves the following core steps:
Capture – CO₂ is captured at industrial sources (primarily ethanol plants, fertilizer facilities, or gas processing).
Compression – The CO₂ is pressurized into a "supercritical" fluid, where it has both gas and liquid properties—highly volatile and dangerous if released.
Transport – This fluid is pushed at high pressure through buried pipelines, often routed through rural farmland.
Injection – The fluid is stored deep underground in geologic formations via Class VI wells.
💥This process demands intense energy inputs and creates significant risks. Leaks or ruptures can displace oxygen and kill quickly, as seen in Satartia, Mississippi.
Who's Behind It?
Pipeline developers: Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO2, Wolf Carbon Solutions, Denbury (now owned by Occidental Petroleum)
Corporate players: Occidental/1PointFive and ExxonMobil are developing carbon hubs in Texas
Industrial sources: Ethanol refineries, ammonia/fertilizer plants, and natural gas processors are the largest sources of CO₂
💥These projects exist because of powerful federal incentives, not because of free-market demand.
What’s the Rush?
Two main tax incentives are driving the gold rush:
45Q Tax Credit – Provides up to $85 per metric ton of CO₂ captured and stored, courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). (Trump’s administration has not rolled back the tax credits or incentives—just shifted focus back to fossil fuels. Therefore, companies continue acting based on policies that haven’t been repealed yet.)
Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) – Particularly in California, allow ethanol producers to earn credits for capturing and storing CO₂.
Billions of dollars are at stake, and projects are racing to qualify before federal deadlines close. This has created:
Permitting shortcuts
Reduced local input
Pipeline siting without community awareness
💥Transparency has taken a back seat to speed—and profit.
Regulatory Gaps: What's Not Covered?
Pipelines transporting CO₂ + natural gas mixtures fall into unclear legal zones—neither fully FERC nor PHMSA jurisdiction. This means unnecessary risk - beyond the already substantial risk.
The DOE, EPA, and state regulators are working in silos - without cohesion, leaving communities confused and unprotected.
PHMSA safety rules, though restarted in 2025, remain in draft form. Public comments just closed August 4, 2025, so no safety rules are even in effect at this time. Additionally, the pipeline developers refuse to share their ‘safety’ guidelines.
💥 In the meantime, infrastructure is going in the ground—unregulated or under-regulated.
Where Is This Happening?
EPA Approves Texas’ First CO2 Injection Well (4/8/2025)
While the Midwest gets the headlines, Texas is quickly becoming the next epicenter of carbon infrastructure risk:
Stratos (Oxy/1PointFive hub near Odessa): This new Direct Air Capture (DAC) project comes with EPA-issued Class VI injection permits, establishing subterranean CO₂ storage in a region already rich with oil-and-gas activity.
Andrews County: A high-pressure zone already dense with energy extraction infrastructure—now hosting CO₂ pipelines and Class VI injection wells—raising concerns over land stress and regulatory oversight.
Bell County corridor: Home to a proposed 200-mile, above-ground 765 kV transmission line made up of massive lattice towers. It intersects existing and potential CO₂ pipeline zones, raising public safety, land-use, and zoning concerns.
Permian Basin networks: Long-standing oil and natural gas pipelines are now poised to be repurposed or co-located with new CO₂ (and possibly mixed-gas) pipelines, meaning legacy energy right-of-ways could be overburdened or become dangerous chokepoints.
Why it matters: In regions like Odessa, Andrews, Bell County, and the Permian Basin, these overlapping infrastructures—CO₂ pipelines, electric grid expansion, aquifers, nuclear storage, BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems-another explosion hazard)—compound the risk of industrial accidents, land loss, groundwater stress, and emergency blind spots. When these systems intersect, one failure can compromise multiple infrastructure systems simultaneously, escalating risk and consequences at an exponential rate. Lack of substantive regulations and oversight as well as the new and unproven process. No single agency coordinates risk mapping across all of these intersecting systems. That vacuum is part of the oversight problem.
💥 These hubs are expanding without public understanding or consent.
Why Time is Critical
Competing Demands on Energy and Water: CCS infrastructure, especially CO₂ compression stations and Class VI injection wells, consumes enormous amounts of electricity and groundwater. Emergency protocols prioritize maintaining pipeline cooling water even above drinking water needs due to explosion risks. With an already strained electric grid and growing water shortages, this rush to build CO₂ networks may tip critical systems into failure — especially when compounded by AI data centers and EV infrastructure with overlapping demands.
The pipeline system is designed to run quietly—beneath farms, ranches, towns.
Emergency responders often lack the training or equipment to handle CO₂ ruptures.
There is no national requirement for local or county-level notification.
💥 In essence, a massive energy project is being built in plain sight—but out of public view.
What Comes Next?
In the rest of this series, we’ll unpack:
Part 2: The Texas Triangle of Risk – Intersections of CO₂, lithium, water, and nuclear waste
Part 3: The Legal Maze – Eminent domain, transparency gaps, regulatory contradictions
Part 4: What We Can Do – Local pushback, legislative options, and community organizing
Stay informed. Stay involved.
💥Our voice is our defense. Let’s speak out before approval is granted and the land is taken.
Additional sources:
Stratos Hub Class VI Permits
Andrews County CO₂ and Injection
Bell County 765 kV Transmission Corridor
https://www.lcra.org/energy/electric-transmission/transmission-line-routing/bell-county-east-to-big-hill-765-kv-transmission-project/ (Preliminary route map. Landowners Bill of Rights.)
https://www.oncor.com/content/oncorwww/us/en/home/about-us/transmission-systems/current-transmission-line-projects/Bell_County_East_-_Big_Hill_765_kV.html (ACTION ITEM
There’s still a little time: Estimated Project Timeline:Application Filing – Anticipated in December 2025.
PUC Decision – Anticipated in June 2026.
Oncor Representatives can be contacted regarding the Bell County East – Big Hill 765 kV Transmission Line Project at 214.486.5216 or transmissionprojects@oncor.com.
LCRA TSC Representatives can be contacted at 512.578.1445 or BCBH@LCRA.org. Additional project details can also be found at www.lcra.org/BCBH.
Permian Basin Pipeline Reuse
There’s also a relationship with ethanol plants. Ethanol plants involved in carbon capture projects require significant amounts of water, raising concerns about resource depletion. In Iowa, ethanol plants partnering with a CO2 pipeline developer would need approximately 3.36 billion gallons (12.7 billion liters) of water annually for carbon capture, potentially threatening the state’s aquifers according to an environmental non-profit This level of water demand highlights a critical interaction between carbon capture initiatives and local water resources, particularly in agricultural regions where both irrigation and industrial use strain supplies.
Carbon capture at ethanol plants is driven by the desire to reduce the carbon intensity (CI) of biofuels and access federal tax incentives like the 45Q credit, expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 These credits can provide up to 60 cents per gallon of ethanol, making carbon capture economically essential for competitiveness The captured CO2 is typically compressed into a liquid form Including a 50% mix with gas) and transported via pipeline to geologic formations for sequestration, with projects such as Navigator CO2’s Heartland Greenway aiming to connect multiple ethanol plants across the Midwest.
However, the cancellation of major pipeline projects, such as Navigator CO2’s, has created uncertainty in the ethanol industry’s ability to sequester carbon and remain profitable Without pipeline infrastructure, ethanol plants face limited options for large-scale carbon sequestration, despite producing substantial CO2—estimated at 48.9 million tons in 2023 alone Only about 5% of this CO2 is currently sold for industrial use, leaving the vast majority available for potential sequestration if infrastructure and economic incentives align.
The environmental benefits of corn ethanol are also under scrutiny. While the U.S. Department of Energy reports that corn ethanol emits 44%–52% less greenhouse gas than gasoline over its lifecycle, further reductions may be possible through carbon capture and sustainable farming practices Yet, the water demands of these processes may offset any benefit, especially if aquifers are depleted.
Thus, the expansion of carbon capture in the ethanol industry hinges on balancing climate goals with sustainable water use and reliable infrastructure, amid regulatory, economic, and community challenges.
Disclaimer:
This publication represents the perspective of a concerned citizen and advocate for property rights, constitutional governance, and community awareness. It is provided for educational and informational purposes only. The content is based on publicly available sources and is presented as analysis and opinion, not as legal, financial, or professional advice.
No assertion is made of unlawful conduct by any individual, company, or government entity unless supported by formal public records or verified legal documents. The views expressed are my own and are intended to encourage public discussion and informed civic engagement.
While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and transparency, readers are encouraged to verify details independently using the official sources and references provided. References to third-party materials are included for context and consideration and do not necessarily reflect my views or imply endorsement.
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