In a significant victory for local advocacy, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has drastically limited a controversial carbon capture project in Southeastern Montana following widespread opposition from ranchers, conservationists, and residents.
The proposed 156-square mile Snowy River Carbon Sequestration project, spearheaded by Denbury Carbon Solutions, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, initially sought authorization for 12 injection wells on over 100,000 acres of federally managed subsurface public lands management to store vast quantities of carbon dioxide.
After more than a year of environmental assessment, the BLM’s recent decision restricts further testing to a single test well site in Carter County, accessible only via a two-track route and a short stretch of road to state land, effectively halting the broad advancement of what could have been Montana’s inaugural carbon capture project.
BLM officials explicitly cited public concern and rancher activism as a strong determinant in their revised stance. Sonya Germann, BLM Montana/Dakotas State Director, affirmed, “We’ve heard the public’s concerns, and we’re acting on them. This decision allows for critical data gathering without advancing the full project at this time. It’s a step that ensures transparency and continued dialogue.”
The proposed energy projects aimed to inject an estimated 150 million tons of carbon pollution over three decades, piped hundreds of miles from Wyoming, and stood to generate substantial financial incentives, potentially up to $12.7 billion in federal tax credits for secure storage of the climate-warming gas.
Environmental assessments revealed both potential benefits, such as overall air quality improvements, and significant risks, including public health impacts if a pipeline were to rupture, referencing a prior incident in Mississippi. Furthermore, while directly decreasing Greater Sage-Grouse habitat minimally, construction could lead to larger-scale avoidance by the species.
Carter County residents, a community of 1,400, voiced profound concerns about how the carbon capture Montana project would fundamentally alter their way of life. Worries spanned potential disruptions to cattle grazing, adverse impacts on property values, and the integrity of their vital underground water sources, with many feeling marginalized by the project’s progression.
Moving forward, the Environmental Protection Agency will scrutinize groundwater data to determine the project’s permitting viability. Llane Carroll, a Carter County rancher and Northern Plains Resource Council member, underscored the community’s decisive influence, stating, “If not for Carter County residents and Montanans across the state sounding the alarm about the harm this pollution storage project could pose to our health, groundwater and grasslands, this decision would have probably been a full green light for Exxon. Clearly, BLM heard our voices and is only allowing limited access to our public resources for testing.”
