Category Archives: Nebraska

Revoke pipeline eminent domain –bill by Nebraska state Senator

It’s time to revoke laws that support the foreign aristocracy of invading fossil fuel companies.

Unicameral Update, 13 March 2015, Bill would revoke eminent domain for pipelines,

Oil and gas companies could no longer exercise eminent domain in Nebraska under a bill heard by the Judiciary Committee March 11.

LB473, introduced by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, would repeal two provisions of the Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act: the right of eminent domain granted to oil and gas companies and the requirement that they seek approval of the governor when siting a major oil pipeline….

The act, approved by the Legislature during a 2011 special session, was designed to provide a regulatory framework for siting oil pipelines in the state. It was amended in 2012 to give the governor authority to approve major oil pipeline routes.

Concern over the state’s pipeline regulations was prompted by TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada to Gulf Coast oil refineries. The pipeline’s original route would have traversed the Ogallala Aquifer and Nebraska Sandhills.

And why should eminent domain apply anywhere to Spectra Energy’s proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline to LNG export in Florida, through our drinking water Floridan Aquifer?

Chambers said his bill is Continue reading Revoke pipeline eminent domain –bill by Nebraska state Senator

Judge strikes Nebraska Keystone XL pipeline law

This victory for landowners against eminent domain by an out-of-state company for the Keystone XL oil pipeline is relevant to the Sabal Trail methane pipeline, which is just as big a boondoggle for remote companies at the expense of local landowners and taxpayers.

Alison Sider and Alicia Mundy wrote for WSJ yesterday, Nebraska Judge Blocks Governor’s Keystone XL Decision: Court Decision a Victory for Opponents of the Pipeline Project

A Nebraska judge ruled Wednesday the law allowing the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline to be built across the state is unconstitutional, a move that could further delay the project.

Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy sided with three landowners who argued Nebraska’s governor shouldn’t be able to sign off on the pipeline’s route. The governor, Republican Dave Heineman, was handed that power in a law the state Legislature hastily passed in 2012. But the court ruled that under the state’s constitution, only Nebraska’s Public Service Commission could approve such a pipeline route.

The judge ruled the Legislature overstepped its bounds and the governor’s approval “must be declared null and void,” because it was based on an unconstitutional law.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who defended the law in court, said he would appeal the decision.

Georgia’s Public Service Commission hasn’t approved any route for Spectra’s Sabal Trail methane pipeline, and I don’t think Alabama’s has, either.

TransCanada said it was disappointed Continue reading Judge strikes Nebraska Keystone XL pipeline law