Category Archives: pipelines/common carriers

4 Reasons Property Owners tout Trans Pecos Pipeline as the next Dakota Pipeline Standoff.

What’s the Trans Pecos Pipeline?  A West Texas pipeline that will deliver natural gas to Mexico & the pipeline cost will be paid by Mexico so it can power electricty plants

What characteristics of the Trans Pecos pipeline that draw parallels with the Dakota Pipeline protest?

  • Landowners talk about court awards in the millions that they won but that are unpaid.
    • The pipeline is appealing the awards.
  • Native Americans are getting involved to protest in Texas
  • The Texas land includes some…

Legal Trend. No Eminent Domain for Private Companies. 3 Statements from a Judge.

The project denied eminent domain: An oil pipeline through rural Ohio

What were the judge’s objections?

  • The company pointed to a $237.3 Million economic boon and the court said economic development is not a reason for eminent domain
  • The pipeline provides no direct benefit or service to Ohioans.
  • The common carrier statute that applies to pipelines like this is an unconstitutional infringement on the property rights of Ohioans

Legal Trends in the Rust Belt meet Legislative Trends in the…

City in Rust Belt Votes Down Pipeline. 2 Takeaways.

The city:  Bowling Green, Ohio

The city council vote:  7 to 0 to deny right of way access for a pipeline in the city

The takeaways:

  • Offering to follow existing easements isn’t enough to get around a growing sentiment of no eminent domain for private gain
  • The pipeline may now exercise eminent domain against the city

The Toledo Blade | Bowling Green council votes down pipeline plan

 

3 Recommendations for Eminent Domain Reform. Senate State Affairs.

Senate State Affairs Committee Interim Report offers the following recommendations for eminent domain reform:

  • Property Owner must be fairly compensated. Offers are often unfair, below market.
  • Property owners must be able to recover all or a portion of the costs that they incur
  • Amend the landowner bill of rights to:
    • clarify that some property may be included that the condemnor has no legal authority to condemn
    • offers should separate property that the condmenor wants to purchase and an…

Legal Trend. No Pre-condemnation Access. +1 State Supreme Court

Requiring that land owners allow precondemnation access to their land for pipelines is going out of fashion.

The latest court to side against pipelines in eminent domain: The West Virigina State Supreme Court

What did the West Virigina Supreme Court have to say? 

  • unconvinced the pipeline serves a public benefit
  • if there is no public benefit, there is no eminent domain and there is no access to land without land owner consent.

Why did the court decide there was no public benefit in the…

Property Owner Says Silent Majority Supports Eminent Domain.

Who: A Virigina landowner, whose land could be impacted by a pipeline

Is doing what? Defending the pipeline. The landowner says that federal agencies, and not landowners, should determine whether a pipeline is a public benefit.

What elese does this landowner say about eminent domain? “without eminent domain, there is no civilization”

What do opponents say? “We are fighting against taking our property for profit.”

NBC 29 WVIR | Property Owner Defends Pipeline, Says He’s in ‘Silent…

TREND. Swing States Unite for Property Rights. Private Entities Be Wary.

Which 2 swing states are propping up property rights? PA in Robinson Township v. Commonwealth & OH in Kinder Morgan utopia v. PDB Farms 

How are these states at the forefront of property rights trend? Courts in each of the state’s have denied private businesses from using eminent domain when no public benefit exists

What’s the kicker on public benefit? Both of the projects denied eminent domain authority were moving goods over a common carrier to Canada with no facilities in the…

Legal Trend. Ohio Follows Pennsylvania–a phrase not just for Presidential Elections.

An Ohio Court has stopped the power of eminent domain for a pipeline in Ohio based on this rational:

  • The pipeline is benefiting 1 manufacturer, not a common good
  • The pipeline benefit is in Canada and not in Ohio

Sandusky Register | Ruling could help farmers battling pipelines

+1 Denial of Eminent Domain. No Public Use in Exports.

Where: Ohio

Who or what denied eminent domain authority? A state judge

What project was denied eminent domain authority? A pipeline that would move natural gas froma  shale region in Ohio to a facility in Canada

Why wasn’t public use of benefit met? Because the benefit from the poeject was found to be the end point of the pipeline in Canada. The jobs created in Ohio were not persuasive to the court.

The Toledo Blade | Wood County judge nixes pipeline builder’s eminent domain plans