Communities Unite Against Proposed Carbon Pipeline in Bay Area

On September 9, 2025, in Fairfield, a coalition known as Communities Against Carbon Transport Injection (CACTI) formally launched an initiative aimed at opposing the proposed Montezuma carbon hub. This project, which includes a 45-mile pipeline designed to transport carbon dioxide from various industrial sources through the Bay Area, has raised significant concerns among local residents and environmental advocates. The pipeline would ultimately inject CO2 underground near the Suisun Marsh, marking the Bay Area's first carbon capture and storage endeavor.

Activists gathered outside the Solano County Supervisors building to voice their objections, arguing that the project poses serious risks to public health and local wildlife. Community member Kathy Kerridge, who has lived in Benicia for four decades, expressed her fears regarding the implications for her family and community. “The proposed project could have a profoundly negative impact on our area,” she stated, highlighting the potential for catastrophic health consequences, such as asphyxiation or even death, in the event of a leak.

Medical professionals echoed these sentiments, with Dr. Bonnie Hamilton of San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility emphasizing the hazards associated with compressed CO2. The substance can quickly transform into a dense fog that is not only difficult to detect but also poses a serious asphyxiation risk. Furthermore, concerns about the integrity of the pipeline infrastructure have been raised, as CO2 can react with moisture to create corrosive conditions that may endanger local drinking water supplies.

Former Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson criticized the project, arguing that the associated risks far outweigh any purported benefits, which she believes largely serve the interests of oil refineries and federal funding. "This is not the time nor the place to take such risks for so little benefit," she asserted, reflecting a growing sentiment among local leaders.

Opponents of the carbon capture initiative contend that it serves merely as a financial safety net for the fossil fuel industry, funded by taxpayers who already bear the burden of living near such infrastructure. Aundi Mevoli, a staff scientist with San Francisco Baykeeper, remarked on the ineffectiveness of carbon capture and storage, likening it to covering up an oil rig with a tarp—a temporary fix that ultimately fails to address the underlying issues of climate change.

As two bills poised to lift California’s moratorium on CO2 pipelines make their way through the state legislature, local organizers, including Isabel Penman of Food & Water Watch, warn that Californians are at risk of losing protections against hazardous carbon projects. “We deserve a thriving sustainable economy and climate that doesn’t rely on pollution and extraction,” Penman urged, encapsulating the coalition's mission. The launch of CACTI represents a significant mobilization against what many view as a dangerous step backward in the fight for environmental justice and public health.