BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A plan to build California’s first carbon storage facility received a big boost Thursday night.
The Kern County Planning Commission voted to give the state’s largest oil producer, California Resources Corporation (CRC), a permit to build and operate the facility, known as Carbon TerraVault 1.
After four hours of presentations and sometimes emotional public comment, the commission voted 3-0 to approve the company’s plan to inject liquefied carbon dioxide a mile below the Elk Hills Oil Field. Two commissioners had previously recused themselves; one, Joe Ashley, is an executive at CRC.
The meeting room was packed; about half of those in attendance were members of trade unions – many wearing orange safety vests – who supported the proposal. (In its application, CRC estimated the project would create about 80 temporary construction jobs and 5 permanent positions.)
“If we don’t build, we starve,” said Daniel Osborne, a building trades delegate. “We take pride in building things that matter, and we’ve got a project of this magnitude that‘s committed to putting Kern County residents to work, paying them a fair wage and addressing the global climate crisis.”
“I believe that’s a project that matters,” he added.
Others were holding signs in Spanish that read, “Alto a la peligroso captura de carbono” or stop dangerous carbon capture.
“There’s all kinds of unknowns,” said Chris Rominini, who said her orchard in Buttonwillow is near the project site. “This stuff [carbon dioxide] is lethal. It can come back up. How quickly can they really notify an irrigator who’s been working out in the field?”
Her concern was shared by other farmworkers who feared for their health in the event of a leak. Many pointed to a 2020 pipeline rupture that sickened dozens of people in a rural Mississippi town.
Kern County Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt addressed that incident during an hour-long presentation at the start of the meeting. She said the county is imposing more than 90 measures to mitigate risks, including monitoring wells and automatic shutoff valves.
In the event of a “critical rupture,” she said the gas could travel no more than about 900 feet at lethal concentrations. The nearest school is about 4 miles away, she noted.
State and federal agencies will also monitor for earthquakes and leaks at the site.
“Staff has been aware of this danger from the very beginning of the process of these applications, and it has shaped every condition we are recommending to you and mitigation measure,” she told commissioners ahead of their vote.
A CRC executive highlighted the project’s environmental objectives.
“This is a world-class carbon sequestration reservoir, where we can store up to 46 million tons of CO2 supporting California’s climate-change goals,” said Travis Hurst, CRC’s director of carbon storage.
The county was expected to vote on another carbon capture project – from Aera Energy, but postponed that vote until October 10. (CRC merged with Aera in July.)
The Board of Supervisors is also expected to vote on the TerraVault project next month.
