The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its second-ever Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) permit, greenlighting a marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) pilot in Louisiana.
With this permit, the agency is granting the right to Houston-based company Carboniferous to deposit bricks of biomass into a deep, low-oxygen water zone off the Louisiana coast as part of a monitored pilot study.
Through the pilot deployment, Carboniferous will drop up to 16 metric tons of crushed sugarcane stalks along with monitoring equipment into a site located some 168 miles southwest of the coast of Louisiana.
Under the shared plan, the biomass dumping is expected to begin in September 2026 and last through February 2028.
This marks the second instance the agency has issued an MPRSA research permit, following a 2024 authorization for the LOC-NESS Wilkinson Basin Study.
The permit issuance comes after the EPA cleared its website from the section that explained the potential climate benefits of mCDR technologies.
This change is only one in a series of similar actions in which federal agencies have removed the mention of climate change from government websites under President Trump’s second mandate in office.
Still, mCDR as a carbon removal pathway has been receiving bipartisan support in the United States, where both Republican and Democratic representatives have expressed mCDR interest and have backed the further exploration of these solutions.
Relevant: New Bipartisan Legislation Supports mCDR Development In The US
Earlier this year, representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) presented the Removing and Sequestering Carbon Unleashed in the Environment and Oceans Act (ReSCUE Oceans Act), suggesting a bipartisan legislation aimed at accelerating mCDR research in the US.
The issuance of the second MPRSA research permit is also a positive mCDR signal, indicating a rising recognition of these solutions on a governmental level.
Commenting on the permit issuance, nonprofit Carbon180 welcomed this decision, highlighting that mCDR is an emerging field and permitted, monitored research can provide answers on how ocean-based approaches can be scaled for carbon removal.
Read more: Marine Carbon Removal Gains Momentum But Can It Scale Responsibly?
