The Snowy River Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Sequestration Project is a proposal from Denbury Carbon Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. If completed, it would lead to the industrial development of native rangeland. The project will capture carbon dioxide emissions from Wyoming natural gas plants and inject them into the ground near Ekalaka over the next 20 years.

“Wait, wouldn’t that help us fight greenhouse gas emissions?”

Carbon capture and sequestration (CC&S) is presented as a solution to climate change, but unfortunately, it’s all smoke and mirrors. Over the lifespan of the project, it is estimated that some 150 million tons of CO2 will be pumped into the ground in Carter County. From an air quality standpoint, that sounds impactful, but in just 2 years (2022 and 2023), Exxon operations alone produced 188 million tons of CO2. CCS projects are too expensive, risky, and ineffective to be seen as real solutions. They harm communities and environments while allowing corporations like Exxon to expand operations. It is still unclear what immediate and long-term effects this amount of pollution will have on the local ecosystem and groundwater, which serves as the primary source of water for ranchers and residents in the area.