(Citizens for a New Louisiana) — As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary next year, it’s worth recalling the words of Thomas Paine. In 1776, his pamphlet Common Sense warned of a truth that remains as alive and relevant today as it was then:

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.

In other words, the taxes you pay empower the government to torment you. That may sound dramatic, but across Louisiana it’s becoming all too familiar. And in Beauregard Parish, residents are now living that lesson firsthand. The very government meant to defend their interests has instead chosen to represent outsiders—those who have come to bury carbon beneath the parish’s pine forests and aquifers.

A new round of public polling conducted this month among voters in Louisiana House Districts 24 and 30 — covering much of Beauregard Parish and neighboring Vernon and Sabine — shows overwhelming opposition to so-called carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects (CCUS). The surveys, commissioned by Representatives Chuck Owen (R 9/10) and Rodney Schamerhorn (R 9/10), reached respondents across the region and revealed a near-universal message — the people here know what CCUS is, and they do not want it under their soil.

Nine in Ten Demand a Local Vote

When asked who should decide whether carbon dioxide can be permanently stored underground in a parish, 91 percent of respondents in District 24 and 89 percent in District 30 said the choice belongs to citizens at a ballot, not to state or federal agencies. Only a sliver, around four percent, believed Baton Rouge should decide, and just one percent deferred to Washington. These numbers reflect one of the strongest expressions of local sovereignty recorded on any Louisiana environmental issue in recent years.

‘This is our land, not theirs,’ and ‘we don’t want anyone injecting waste under it without asking us first’ are common positions voiced by residents of Beauregard.

In the Name of Economic Development

Industry lobbyists have claimed that carbon capture could bring jobs and economic growth. We have all heard it before. Every political whore from Washington D.C. to the left coast talks about economic development as though they wield some magical wand over how and when people spend their hard-earned cash. When you hear the term economic development, you should run away. Don’t bother to look over your shoulder long enough to see who is promising ‘free bubalub and rainbow stew.’

But even after being told about those promises, more than 70 percent of residents said they would still be less likely to support CCUS, not more. The reason is simple – people no longer trust politicians in Louisiana when they utter the magic phrase “economic development.” They’ve watched pipelines run through their fields, revenues vanish to out-of-state corporations or end up in the pockets of insiders, and regulatory boards act as rubber stamps. All in the name of “economic development.” Now, with carbon capture (CCUS), they see a repeat of that pattern — except this time, the waste isn’t visible. It’s buried.

Eminent Domain: The Breaking Point

The strongest reactions in the survey came from questions about eminent domain, the power of government to take private land for corporate use. Nearly 80 percent of voters opposed eminent domain for oil or gas pipelines, and over 80 percent opposed it for carbon storage projects. This is not an isolated protest — it’s a defense of Louisiana’s founding principle that property belongs to the citizen, not the state.

Eminent domain has long been tolerated when tied to public necessity — roads, schools, levees. But as one Beauregard resident put it, ‘There’s nothing public about giving Exxon or some California outfit the right to dig up our pastures and call it climate policy.’

The Louisiana Constitution contains a declaration of rights, with Article 1, Section 4 specifically addressing the “right to property.” It reads in pertinent part:

“Every person has the right to acquire, own, control, use, enjoy, protect, and dispose of private property.  This right is subject to reasonable statutory restrictions and the reasonable exercise of the police power.

Property shall not be taken or damaged by the state or its political subdivisions except for public purposes and with just compensation paid to the owner or into court for his benefit.

Property shall not be taken or damaged by any private entity authorized by law to expropriate, except for a public and necessary purpose and with just compensation paid…”

Your “right” to property exists at the whim of the legislature. As it pertains to carbon capture, your legislature has specifically sold your right to corporations. It is time to reclaim that right.

A Federal Scheme with Local Consequences

Carbon Capture (CCUS) projects exist only because of massive federal tax subsidies created through Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act — money that pays corporations up to $85 per ton of carbon they inject underground. These are not free-market ventures; they are federally engineered experiments placed in the backyards of working communities that never asked for them.

For Beauregard Parish, the stakes are personal. Beneath the parish lie the Carrizo–Wilcox and Jasper aquifers, primary drinking-water sources for Western Louisiana and East Texas. A single containment failure could contaminate those water layers or alter seismic pressures underground.

The Local Voice That Built the Polls

Representatives Rodney Schamerhorn and Chuck Owen, both members of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus, have spent the past year attending public meetings and listening to residents alarmed by Carbon Capture (CCUS) lease activity. Their October polls were not political theater — they were a verification of what people had been shouting from parish halls since 2023 – “Leave our land alone.”

In District 24 (northern Beauregard and southern Sabine), 85 percent of voters said they were familiar or very familiar with CCUS, proof that the public has been educating itself — not waiting for industry handouts or talking points. Awareness does not equal acceptance. Knowledge has made opposition sharper.

Western Louisiana’s polling should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers: local consent is not optional. No unelected commission or corporate partner has the authority to override the will and constitutional rights of parish residents. Proceeding with Carbon Capture (CCUS) permits is a defiance of the will of the people and would betray every principle of local government and self-determination that Louisiana’s constitution claims to protect.

Action When Government Ignores the People

When politicians stop listening, the people of Beauregard still have tools of their own. The first is to be loud and visible. Talk to everyone you know—family, neighbors, coworkers, church members—about what’s at stake. Write letters to the editor, call talk shows, and show up at meetings. Every call or email to a council member, state legislator, or congressional office is a record of dissent that cannot be erased. Bureaucrats operate best in silence; break that silence every chance you get.

Next, remember that elections still matter. If your elected officials ignore the will of the people, vote them out. Support candidates who pledge to defend parish control, property rights, and the protection of local water. Ask every person seeking office where they stand on carbon storage. Make sure their answer is public, recorded, and remembered when ballots are cast.

Recalls are on the Table

If they refuse to listen even then, use recall elections. Louisiana law allows voters to recall nearly every public official who betrays their oath. Organize early, gather signatures, and make it clear that local representation is not a lifetime entitlement. The mere act of starting a recall sends a message that Beauregard voters mean business. But time is limited. Don’t initiate the process unless you are thoroughly organized and willing to follow through.

Fight with your pocketbook. Vote against tax renewals, bond issues, and millages that funnel money towards or support Carbon Capture (CCUS) infrastructure or the agencies enabling it, including your local government. Politicians notice lost revenue faster than lost trust. When citizens refuse to fund their own erosion of authority, the system slows down.

Finally, stand together. None of these actions works in isolation. Share information across neighborhoods and parishes; coordinate petitions, comment submissions, and turnout at every public hearing. The louder and more united Beauregard Parish becomes, the harder it is for local officials and representatives in Baton Rouge or Washington to ignore its demands. A handful of activists does not draw the line in the pine forest—it’s drawn by every ordinary citizen who refuses to be silent.

Conclusion: A Line in the Pine Forest

Beauregard Parish has drawn its line. Its citizens are neither uninformed nor indifferent — they are alert, educated, and united against a project that threatens their property, water, and rights. If local, state, and national politicians won’t listen, the people of Beauregard will not wait for permission to speak. THEY WILL ACT. And when they do, every vote, every resolution, and every refusal to surrender will stand as a reminder that Louisiana’s soil still belongs to Louisianans.