Today, California and national public interest, environmental justice, Indigenous, landowner, and community groups sent a letter to Commerce Committee leaders urging the Senate to adopt strong, enforceable protections against carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines. No federal safety guidelines exist for CO2 pipelines, despite grave risks. The letter, facilitated by the national environmental organization Food & Water Watch, comes in advance of a key hearing on pipeline safety scheduled for Thursday. 

The letter reads, in part, “CO2 pipelines present unique and serious hazards that existing federal laws and regulations fail to address. As Congress considers reauthorization of PHMSA’s programs, we urge you to adopt strong standards that prioritize public safety, landowner rights, and environmental integrity. Federal policy must keep pace with this expanding industry and the risks it brings.” 

The letter highlights urgent need for regulations on: general pipeline safety; community emergency response and preparedness; pipeline construction standards, monitoring, and leak detection; and landowner rights and financial protections. These groups also warned House Energy & Commerce Committee leaders earlier this week against fast tracking CO2 pipelines as part of a reconciliation package.

Thanks to billions of dollars in publicly funded carbon capture incentives, corporations have proposed thousands of miles of new pipelines, threatening communities and property owners nationwide. Food & Water Watch research illustrates the myriad of risks and dangers posed by carbon capture and storage, even with updated safety standards. A 2020 CO2 pipeline rupture in Satartia, Mississippi evacuated a town and sent 49 people to the hospital.

California has had a partial moratorium on CO2 pipelines since 2022 to protect California communities. However, two bills currently moving through the California legislature – AB 881 / SB 614 – would create a pathway to lift the moratorium. 

There are around two dozen proposed CCS projects in California, most of which would be located in areas of the state already overburdened by pollution.

“As a climate leader, California has an obligation to create and enforce laws that protect our communities from polluting, dangerous carbon pipelines and CCS projects that are at least as strong – if not stronger – than the federal regulations,” said Isabel Penman, Northern California Organizer at Food & Water Watch. “Both our state and federal government must enact robust safety rules for the benefit of our communities now.”

“Low-income communities of color already endure the worst impacts of pollution – we cannot let them become the testing ground for dangerous CO₂ pipelines,” said Maricruz Ramirez, Community Organizer at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment. “A rupture isn’t just an accident; it’s a mass casualty threat, especially for families in the San Joaquin Valley, where children breathe the nation’s most toxic air. Rushing to approve these pipelines without protecting frontline communities isn’t just reckless – it’s environmental racism.” 

“Pipelines that are close to populated areas, especially in regions prone to earthquakes, like the West Coast are a potential disaster,” said Kathy Kerridge, Good Neighbor Steering Committee of Benicia. “In the event of a break you can’t escape, may not be able to be rescued and could die in a matter of minutes.”

“Incidents like the pipeline rupture in Satartia in 2020 show us that we need strong protections against the dangers of carbon pipelines for frontline communities,” said Martha Dina Argüello, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles. “The California carbon pipeline moratorium must remain in place until strong federal standards are enacted — community health must not be sacrificed for risky and unproven infrastructure.”