HAMMOND - Amid concerns over a plan to potentially store carbon dioxide beneath Lake Maurepas, Southeastern Louisiana University announced it will be tasked with monitoring for any impacts on the lake's ecosystem throughout the duration of the project. 

On Monday, the university said it will independently monitor Air Products' project and make the findings of its environmental monitoring public for all to see. According to a news release, Southeastern's monitoring will include marine and plant life in the surrounding wetlands, as well as water quality.  

The college says Air Products is already set to begin preliminary studies on the viability of Lake Maurepas for its "Blue Hydrogen" project. 

“Southeastern will be monitoring all facets of this project involving the lake to ensure up-
to-date data and information are available. We will make all the data we record available to the public to ensure everyone’s right to know any findings,” said Dan McCarthy, dean of the College of Science and Technology.

The announcement from Southeastern comes after weeks of pushback from residents who are skeptical of the proposal from Air Products, an industrial gas supplier. The goal behind the project is to store CO2 in pockets beneath the lake, rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. 

Earlier this month, the Livingston Parish Council passed a moratorium on injection wells in hope of slowing down the project, though officials acknowledged that they seemingly had little power to do anything about it. 

"According to our attorney, we have a memo, and he has backed it up with several revised statutes saying that we have no jurisdiction, and he said not only do we not have legal jurisdiction, we could legally be sued if we try to slow it down or stop it any other way," Councilman Randy Delatte said at the time.

Read the full statement from Southeastern here.