California’s first major carbon storage project sparks environmental justice battle in restored bay area wetland

A groundbreaking but controversial plan to bury millions of tons of carbon dioxide beneath California’s Montezuma Wetlands is igniting fierce debate over who should bear the burden of climate solutions. The project, which could become the state’s first large-scale carbon capture and storage facility, would pump CO2 from Bay Area refineries and power plants through a 40-mile pipeline into underground rock formations two miles beneath the 1,800-acre restored marsh.

The wetlands themselves represent a remarkable conservation success story. Once drained for farming and used as an industrial waste dump, the Solano County site was painstakingly restored over two decades, with tidal waters returning in 2020 for the first time in a century. Today, the thriving ecosystem teems with shorebirds and wildlife—making the proposed industrial use all the more contentious.

Montezuma Carbon, the company behind the $2 billion project, argues the site’s geology and proximity to major polluters make it ideal for storing up to 8 million tons of CO2 annually. Supporters say carbon storage is essential for California to meet its 2045 carbon neutrality goals, particularly for hard-to-decarbonize industries like cement production. State officials have endorsed the technology as necessary, even if imperfect.

However, local residents and environmental justice advocates are pushing back hard. They argue Solano County—home to diverse, working-class communities including many veterans and disabled residents—has long served as the region’s dumping ground for industrial projects. Critics worry about pipeline safety, potential earthquakes, and whether the technology simply allows polluters to continue business as usual rather than pursuing cleaner alternatives. The battle reflects broader questions about who controls communities and who must live with the infrastructure needed to address climate change.