A California Superior Court ruling has overturned Kern County’s environmental approval for TerraVault I, California’s first commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, forcing a temporary shutdown of the facility.

Decided on November 3, 2026, by Superior Court Judge Marcos Camacho, the ruling found that the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The legal challenge was brought forward by local environmental justice and conservation groups, including the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Earthjustice.

Located at the Elk Hills Oil Field in the San Joaquin Valley and developed by California Resources Corporation (CRC), TerraVault I began capturing and injecting carbon dioxide into depleted oil reservoirs in May 2026. Designed for a full operational capacity of over 2 million metric tons of CO2 per year, the project targeted emissions from local oil operations as well as planned regional industrial facilities.

The court determined that the project’s EIR omitted critical evaluations regarding the broader operational scope of the sequestration site:

Relevant: California Resources And Bloom Energy To Evaluate 1 GW Fuel Cell Power With Carbon Capture

CRC President and CEO Francisco Leon expressed disappointment in the ruling, stating that the order represents a step backward for climate management technologies while asserting the company will evaluate options to appeal or remedy the environmental filings.

The injunction mandates that CRC prepare a revised, comprehensive EIR addressing all potential source facilities, local air quality impacts, and long-term storage monitoring before seeking authorization to restart sequestration operations.

Source link