Category Archives: pipelines/common carriers

Editorial Proposes No Eminent Domain for Exported Goods

In a laundry list of pipeline reforms, a newspaper recommends prohibiting eminent domain when the public good is in whole or part exported. 

The targets: Private companies with eminent domain authority like transmission lines & pipelines

The Recorder | Greenfield Massachustees | Lets Fix Pipeline Review Steps

The Federalists Are Coming after Pipeline Eminent Domain. Some say yes Constitutional. Some say, Not Constitutional.

  • Highlights the eminent domain prohibitions that passed in Georgia and South Carolina
  • Focuses on the unusual alliance of property rights advocates & environmentalists
  • Ilya Somin stresses that some pipeline use of eminent domain does meet constitutional muster.

Washington Post | Volokh Conspiracy | Federalist Society teleforum on pipeline takings

What you Need to Know. Eminent Domain Battlegrounds. The post-Kelo reformer coalition.

Which states are eminent domain battlegrounds? Georgia & South Carolina

Which issues are resonating?  prohibition on eminent domain exercised by or in support of private companies

Are there new, post-Kelo coalitions? Yes, property rights advocates + environmentalists

The primary eminent domain target? Pipelines

The answer for pipelines? Condemning in federal court, under federal laws that do not provide as great protection for landowners and may preempt state law

National Law…

Southern State. County Resolution. No Eminent Domain for Private Gain.

The State: Tennessee

The County Resolutions: Urge the State Legislature to prohibit eminent domain to benefit private projects

Is this bigger than banning eminent domain for private entities? yes, it calls for a prohibition on government use of eminent domain to benefit a private entity

Jefferson County TN Standard Bearer | Carmichael re-elected as chairman

6 High Profile Texans Oppose Trans Pecos Pipeline

These high profile Texans signed an ad that ran in the Dallas Morning News opposing the Trans Pecos Pipeline:

  • Peter Coyote
  • Tommy Lee Jones
  • musicians:  Ray Wylie Hubbard, Randy Jackson, Sara Hickman and Gurf Morlix

Who organized the ad? Big Bend Conservation Alliance

Other celebs involved in anti-pipeline/anti-eminent domain issues: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tommy Lee Jones, Jason Mamoa, Exra Miller, Ray Fisher, Pharrell Williams, Susan Sarandon, and Shailene Woodley

Indian Country Today…

Pipelines v. Farmers. 4 Recommendations to Level the Playing Field.

Where is this happening? Far North Texas, also known as, Colorado. Weld, County, CO

What issue is this editorial confronting? Pipelines that traverse farm land.

What recommendations do they have for pipelines?

  • eminent domain is a privilege, not a threat
  • eminent domain is not a bargaining tool
  • fields should be left in good condition, no cheating on what soil is used for backfill
  • avoid careless mistakes like using sandy soil

The Tribune of Greeley & Weld County, CO | Tribune opinion:…

Bonjour. Texas Eminent Domain Database. 3 Key Points. 1 Entity Type. 1488 Authorizations of Eminent Domain.

Access the database here: Comptroller’s Online Eminent Domain Database COEDD

Search by: 

  • Entity Name
  • Entity Location
  • Entity Type:
    • City 
    • County
    • EDC
    • ISD
    • Municipal Water, MUD, Irrigation District…
    • Other special district- emergency services, hospital district….
    • Pipelines and related
    • Telecommunications and telephone
    • Railroads

By the numbers:

  • 408 results in pipelines
  • 54 results in communications
  • 98 results in other special districts
  • 1488 results in water…

Update. Epic Eminent Domain Showdown. The Pros. The Cons. The Arrests.

The Number of Arrests: 38+

The Native American arguments against using eminent domain for the pipeline:

  • harm to a Native American cutural site
  • harm to the tribe’s water supply

The number of courts involved:

  • The tribes sued in D.C. federal court for an injunction to stop the pipeline
    • the court is epxected to rule Sept. 9th
  • The pipeline sued in federal court in Iowa to stop the protestors
    • the court denied this request

Wall Street Journal | Pipeline Protests Bring Dozens of Arrests…

Was Peach State's Eminent Domain Ban Authored by a Supporter of Pipelines?

Yes, it was. State Representative Hitchens in a pipeline supporter & author of the 1 year ban on eminent domain.

Why? What pushed him over the edge? A private property rights supporter, a veteran, a retired law enforcement officer, a wildife supporter, and it had been 23 years since Georgia grnated private companies the power of eminent domain.

The 23 year time span since authorization was the tipping point? Partly, Yes. Technologies have changed on pipeline safety. 

What landowner…