The parish presidents in Livingston and Ascension parishes disagreed on the outcome of Air Products halting operations across the state; one arguing it will lead to fewer jobs and the other claiming the stop protects the natural resources and community. 

Air Products, an industrial gas company, said Tuesday it is not proceeding with its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex project, which spanned across the state and included an Ascension Parish plant and an injection well on Lake Maurepas. 

"Lake Maurepas is a goldmine for the residents of Livingston Parish. They get to in their backyard, they get to perform recreational activities in their own parish, and we don't need that to be industrial wasteland," Livingston Parish President Randy Delatte said. 

The project, which started in 2021, drew heavy criticism from residents near Lake Maurepas who were concerned that injecting carbon dioxide into the bed of the lake would disturb the fragile ecosystem and impact drinking water for people in the area.

 Delatte fought against Air Products, helping to pass a moratorium to stall the company's progress and speaking to politicians to hopefully curb carbon capture projects in his parish. Delatte called Tuesday's announcement "welcome news" for his constituents. 

"Today’s decision reflects what our residents have consistently said from the start: they do not want Carbon
Capture and Storage beneath Lake Maurepas or in Livingston Parish," Delatte said in a statement. 

Back in October, Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order halting new applications for carbon capture projects to ensure state guidelines pertaining to carbon dioxide pipelines and carbon injection are followed.

 "When you had that executive order, there is a lot of things they had to prove, some of it they may never be able to prove it. so that was a key thing when the governor took a leadership position and said I'm hearing the citizens and this is what I want to do," Delatte said. 

Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment, on the other hand, says that his parish would now be missing out on economic opportunity. 

"This is a tough day for Ascension Parish and for Louisiana. We’re talking about the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in potential investment," Cointment said. 

When the project was announced, Louisiana Economic Development said it would create 170 new direct jobs with an average salary of $93,000 and 413 new indirect jobs for Ascension Parish. 

President and CEO of the Ascension Chamber of Commerce, Donnie Miller, says it's disappointing to learn that Air Products will no longer be developing its plant.

 "Ascension Parish is a parish that's in growth mode right and we are seeing a tremendous amount of investment that's coming into the market and so taking a step backwards is nerve part of the plan," Miller said. 

Cointment said that while he is disappointed, his commitment to economic development in Ascension hasn't changed.

"We’ll continue working to attract responsible investment, create good-paying jobs, and keep Ascension Parish moving forward," he said.

Desiree Lemoine, Executive Director of Industry Makes says she believes industrial companies will continue to invest in Louisiana.

 "Anything that we can do, the government can do to, business can do to keep the momentum which includes the tool of carbon capture and sequestration is always good for anyone involved," Lemoine said.