American Heart Association 300x250

Opinion: Texas landowners subsidize pipelines and powerlines

by | Sep 20, 2018 | Opinion

There is no question, pipeline and transmission line projects are necessary to supply our rapidly growing state. The electric transmission capacity ensures our lights stay on and our homes stay cool during the hottest months of the year. Pipelines carrying oil and gas supply our fuel and a wide array of petroleum-based products, helping feed a booming Texas economy.

There is, however, a darker side to this pipeline and transmission line development. Every year more Texas landowners find themselves in the path of pipeline and transmission line projects.

Most of these companies have the power of eminent domain and can condemn by force the land they want. They are common carriers, meaning their pipeline or transmission lines are available for use by other companies, even though they profit from the projects.

Unfortunately, landowners facing the threat of eminent domain stand little chance of being treated justly or being paid a fair price for what is taken from them.

Some pipeline and transmission line companies are better than others, but profits often outweigh the rights of landowners who must sacrifice their property for the public good. Lax oversight and little transparency in the process also create fertile ground for abuse.

For instance, it is common for companies to hire right of way agents to secure the easements necessary for their project. Frequently, the agents are given a set budget and then allowed to keep a portion of the leftover money if they come in under budget. It’s hard to expect a fair offer from someone when they stand to pocket the difference.

We know condemnors hold a powerful tool to keep land costs low. Intimidation. The threat of being sued, having to hire an attorney and go to court are strong incentives for landowners to take less than they’re owed and accept inadequate terms and conditions.

We also know the energy sector has teams of attorneys ready on retainer to counter any efforts by landowners to seek a better deal.

Something must change. As landowner organizations, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Farm Bureau and Texas Wildlife Association have joined forces to campaign for reforms that create a better and more equitable eminent domain process.

We started the reform process during the 2017 Texas Legislative Session but encountered overwhelming opposition from condemnors who enjoy operating under the current law that stacks the deck in their favor. Ultimately, we were not successful, but we learned hard lessons, the kinds that stick with you.

The 2019 session of the Texas Legislature begins in a few months, and we fully intend to fight once again to reform eminent domain laws in Texas. The lessons learned from 2017 have galvanized our resolve and made us rethink how we approach the issues and those who seek to block progress.

One fundamental component is to require that common carriers make an adequate offer to the landowner at the outset of negotiations. If a landowner is presented with a fair offer, he or she is more likely to be a willing seller, thus sparing both parties from time-consuming and expensive litigation.

Millions of barrels of oil and gas flow through the common carrier pipelines that exist today, but production far exceeds the capacity of these existing pipelines, especially in the Permian Basin. As an attorney based in San Angelo, I have had clients tell me of initial offers that are a pittance compared to the value of the millions of dollars’ worth of product that will flow through the pipelines.

It’s time that companies with the power of eminent domain begin treating landowners more like a partner and less like a commodity. We need to ask why the pipeline and transmission line industries are being carried on the backs of private property owners.

To create the kind of change that is necessary to protect landowners from abusive eminent domain processes, we must educate our elected officials on the realities we face when that right-of-way agent comes knocking.

Lawmakers will face intense pressure to keep the eminent domain laws as they are. We need to show how the eminent domain process works and where the abuses lie.

If you have had an experience with a pipeline or electric company in a condemnation process, we want to hear from you. Your experiences can help show the public and the legislature how dire the situation is for their constituents, Texas landowners.

By Brian McLaughlin, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association director. Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, 1005 Congress Avenue, Suite 1050, Austin, TX 78701.

For more opinion pieces like this subscribe in print or online.

 

 

Photos online

0 Comments

American Heart Association 300x250

Related News

Read this. Build a stronger community.

Read this. Build a stronger community.

Saddened. Embarrassed. Determined. These three words evoke distinct feelings and emotions.  In the context of an opinion piece we ran in the paper four and a half years ago, they described the aftermath of a community that lost its newspaper. After 130 years in...

read more
Largest wildfire in state history still raging

Largest wildfire in state history still raging

A wildfire in the Texas Panhandle has consumed more than 1 million acres and as of Sunday was just 15% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. It is the largest wildfire in Texas history. The Smokehouse Creek Fire is by far the most extensive of...

read more
Pet ownership: A lifetime commitment

Pet ownership: A lifetime commitment

He was crossing the road. Over and over. I was surprised someone hadn’t hit him with their car. I was also surprised the coyotes hadn’t gotten him. It was 9 o’clock at night and according to the residents of the small strip of country road, he’d been out there for a...

read more
A range of options

A range of options

My great grandparents lived on a homestead. They cooked on a wood stove. Most of us today have no idea how good we’ve got it. For my great grandparents’ generation, remodeling the kitchen meant picking a different place to stack the wood. When I was growing up in...

read more
A word from our sponsors

A word from our sponsors

Commercials used to be great. They used to be an art form. They used to be fun. Today’s advertising is boring in comparison. Television commercials were something to which I looked forward when I was a kid. Some were better developed and more interesting than the...

read more
The Walking Dad

The Walking Dad

It’s obvious that I have to wait to die until after everyone else in my home goes. Otherwise, every light in the house will be left on for all of eternity. My dad used to say that I could leave on all of the lights whenever I started paying the bills. That time has...

read more
Small town living: some leave, some come back

Small town living: some leave, some come back

Small town Ashdown, Arkansas. John Moore You learn things when you grow up in a small town. Things you don’t learn if you grow up anywhere else. Things that are special. I was born in a small town. But I didn’t stay. I left for the same reasons other folks leave their...

read more
There’s ‘snow’ ice cream quite like it!

There’s ‘snow’ ice cream quite like it!

It didn’t snow much in Ashdown, Arkansas in the 1960s. It doesn’t snow there much now. But when it did, and when it does, kids there know exactly what to do. Beg their moms to make snow ice cream. It was my mother who showed my sister and me that you could make ice...

read more
Photos online