LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – Concern over carbon capture projects in southwest Louisiana continues to grow. This evening, an open house meeting was held in SOWELA to inform the community about the Cypress Southwest project.

“Our project is located two miles just outside the southern city limit of Vinton. We are proposing to own, construct and operate a direct air capture facility,” said Leslie Matthews, senior stakeholder engagement manager. “It’s a facility that captures CO2 from the atmosphere, we process it and we work with another company to have it piped to permanent underground storage in Vernon and Rapides parishes.

Many residents have shared concerns about increased traffic and chemicals in the air, among other issues, but the Cypress Southwest project reassures residents.

“We are doing a traffic impact assessment to understand what different traffic controls would be important to reduce any effect on this community,” Matthews said. “We do a noise impact assessment, so we look at what noise levels would add to the noise they already experience and mitigate that where possible. We want to make sure people can still enjoy their country lifestyle as we continue to develop our facilities.

The Cypress Project Community Engagement Council, made up of community representatives, said they are excited about the future of this project.

“This project was designed and developed from the ground up to be environmentally friendly and responsive to job creation throughout the region. I think the company is doing everything possible to be open and open about the project,” said Ernest Broussard, participating member of the Community Engagement Council.

Some residents who declined to be filmed said they were excited about the prospect of new jobs in Vinton. However, one resident who lives in Mossville said he is concerned about the future of the air in his community. Project Cypress Southwest reassures all residents of their concerns.

“This is not something new and untested and if people have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’d love to answer questions and have those one-on-one conversations with people,” Matthews said.

Project Cypress Southwest wants the community to know if they have any questions about the future of this project and to contact them. You can do this by clicking HERE.

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