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发帖数: 29846 | 1 By ANA CAMPOY
A Texas judge ruled in favor of pipeline operator TransCanada Corp.'s TRP.T
-0.29% use of eminent domain in its effort to build an oil pipeline that
could ultimately stretch from the Canadian tar sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Lamar County Judge Bill Harris ruled late Wednesday in favor of the Canadian
firm in a dispute with a corn and soybean farmer over a patch of land about
100 miles northeast of Dallas, where TransCanada wants to bury part of its
pipeline.
Last year TransCanada invoked eminent domain laws to secure the piece of
property after the owner, Julia Trigg Crawford, wouldn't sign a voluntary
easement in exchange for a $21,000 payment.
Ms. Crawford appealed to the court, arguing that the Calgary-based company
shouldn't be granted eminent domain powers because it failed to demonstrate
its project will benefit the general public.
In an email message, Ms. Crawford said she was disappointed with the judge's
decision, and will press state legislators to create laws to restrict
eminent domain powers awarded to pipeline companies.
"There is no question the process is riddled with loopholes and flaws," she
said.
TransCanada has said its use of eminent domain is legal because its pipeline
will benefit the public by creating jobs and reducing U.S. dependency on
oil from hostile nations.
"The thousands of Americans we are putting to work building the $2.3 billion
Gulf Coast project will appreciate the ruling as it will continue to allow
them to provide for their families," the company said.
The Gulf Coast project is part of TransCanada's $7 billion expansion of its
Keystone pipeline, which would cross Montana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and
South Dakota.
—Edward Welsch contributed to this article. |
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