MCFARLAND, Calif. (KERO) — Paperwork discrepancies for a carbon capture project in McFarland has lead to the cancellation of the project.
- Video shows paperwork sent between the Environmental Protection Agency and San Joaquin Renewables, the company that was supposed to install the carbon capture project in McFarland.
- SJR would have built, owned, and operated a facility in McFarland that would convert agricultural waste biomass into about 80 thousand gasoline gallon-equivalents of natural gas per day.
- The project would’ve been located on Elmo Highway and Melcher Road, it would’ve created 45-50 full time jobs, and would have completed within 18 months of its construction.
- The project was first proposed back in 2021.
Discrepancies in paperwork for a proposed carbon capture site in McFarland has resulted in the project’s cancellation.
San Joaquin Renewables submitted a Geologic Carbon Sequestration application to the Environmental Protection Agency on November 3, 2021.
The project would’ve been located on Elmo Highway and Melcher Road, it would’ve created 45-50 full-time jobs and would have been completed within 18 months of its construction.
Carbon capture uses a class VI well to inject carbon dioxide into deep rock formations, removing CO2 from the air and helping tackle climate change.
According to the company’s website, SJR would have built, owned, and operated a facility in McFarland that would convert agricultural waste biomass into about 80 thousand gasoline gallon-equivalents of natural gas per day.
But on February 14, 2024 — a letter was sent to SJR by the EPA requesting the company to withdraw its Class VI pre-construction permit after failing “to clarify a discrepancy between its California Environmental Quality Act Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report” or face cancellation from the EPA.
Staff Attorney at Center for Biological Diversity Victoria Bogdan Tejeda claims that they were the company who advised the EPA on this situation.
“My organization and our partners were looking really closely at what San Joaquin Renewables was telling each of these different agencies and what we saw was that what they were telling the agencies simply didn’t line up,” said Bogdan Tejeda.
According to the EPA, SJR’s impact report stated that they would not be injecting CO2 into the onsite well however its initial application did propose CO2 injection into one onsite well.
In September of 2023, SJR states that they will not be injecting CO2 on-site for multiple reasons.
Findings from the impact report showed SJR a lack of surface, mineral, and pore space rights around the project area, making them unable to continue with the intended project.
After the letter sent in February, SJR soon after sent an official notice to the EPA withdrawing their application on March 24, 2024.
We reached out multiple times to San Joaquin Renewables for comment but were not given a statement. The EPA states it will work with SJR if they do decide to put forth another application, but it’s unclear if SJR will resubmit.
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