Louisiana HB 79: CIVIL/LAW: Removes damage threshold for carbon capture release

Bill Text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 614
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 79
BY REPRESENTATIVES ROBBY CARTER, MIKE JOHNSON, MCCORMICK, AND
OWEN
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 30:1109(B) through (F) and to repeal R.S. 30:1109(G), relative
3 to the recovery of damages in carbon capture and storage; to remove caps on
4 recovery for damages; to provide for technical changes; and to provide for related
5 matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 30:1109(B) through (F) are hereby amended and reenacted to read
8 as follows:
9 §1109. Cessation of storage operations; limited liability release
10 * * *
11 B.(1) In any civil liability action against the owner or operator of a storage
12 facility, carbon dioxide transmission pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide
13 being handled by either the facility or pipeline, the maximum amount recoverable
14 as compensatory damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed two hundred fifty
15 thousand dollars per person, except where the damages for noneconomic loss
16 suffered by the plaintiff were for wrongful death; permanent and substantial physical
17 deformity; loss of use of a limb or loss of a bodily organ system; or permanent
18 physical or mental functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person
19 from being able to independently care for himself or herself and perform life-
20 sustaining activities. In such cases, the maximum amount recoverable as
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HB NO. 79 ENROLLED
1 compensatory damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed five hundred thousand
2 dollars per person.
3 (2) If Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, or the application thereof to any
4 person or circumstance, is finally determined by a court of law to be unconstitutional
5 or otherwise invalid, the maximum amount recoverable as damages for noneconomic
6 loss shall thereafter not exceed one million dollars per person. This provision shall
7 not supersede any contractual agreement with respect to liability between a plaintiff
8 and an owner or operator of a storage facility, a carbon dioxide transmission
9 pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide.
10 C. Nothing in this Chapter shall establish or create establishes or creates any
11 liability or responsibility on the part of the secretary or the state to pay any costs
12 associated with site restoration from any source other than the funds or trusts created
13 by this Chapter, nor shall the secretary or the state of Louisiana have any liability or
14 responsibility to make any payments for costs associated with site restoration if the
15 trusts created herein are insufficient to do so.
16 D. C. The secretary or his agents, on proper identification, may enter the land
17 of another for purposes of site assessment or restoration.
18 E. D. The secretary and his agents are not liable for any damages arising
19 from an act or omission if the act or omission is part of a good faith effort to carry
20 out the purpose of this Chapter.
21 F. E. No party contracting with the Department of Conservation and Energy,
22 or the secretary under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed to be a public
23 employee or an employee otherwise subject to the provisions of Parts I through IV
24 of Chapter 15 of Title 42 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
25 G. F. The secretary shall implement this Section in a manner consistent with
26 and as the secretary deems necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of
27 the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended, relating to the state's participation
28 in the underground injection control program established under that Act with respect
29 to the storage and sequestration of carbon dioxide, including but not limited to the
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HB NO. 79 ENROLLED
1 state's authority to restrain any person from engaging in any unauthorized activity
2 which is endangering or causing damage to public health or the environment.
3 Section 2. R.S. 30:1109(G) is hereby repealed in its entirety.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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