In Blow to Tar Sands Pipeline, Texas Landowner Wins Restraining Order

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/11-9


Michael Bishop explaining how the Keystone XL would destroy his property. (See video below for more.)

A Texas judge has temporarily halted work on part of the Keystone XL, TransCanada's tar sands pipeline, the Associated Press reports on Tuesday, representing a victorious, small step in the battle to stop the flow of the bitumen through the lone star state.


The order comes after a suit filed by Texas landowner Michael Bishop, whose property is in the pipeline path. He told AP that TransCanada "lied to the American people" in saying that the pipeline would carry crude oil, when tar sands crude is substantially different.

"It is also a fact that the firm used coercion and intimidating tactics to obtain the property in question and that acting on the validity of their claim, I settled under duress,” Bloomberg reports Bishop as saying in an affidavit.

[ReRe]

1. Finally some good news, from TEXAS!

Hot damn! Great news, there xchrom. Or at least a shinny little ray of light on a somewhat gloomy day. Of course, there's probably a clause somewhere in some paperwork that says all the land owners can't sue them in a class action? This eminent domain business reminds me a little bit of what we did to the Native Americans about 400-450 some odd years ago. It was wrong then, and it's wrong now.
Why can't this country do something right for a change?

[politicaljunkie41910]

2. The crude oil flowing through those pipelines was never intended for the US market.

It was intended to go through our states and out through the Gulf of Mexico into the open markets (China) and make the oil companies richer at our environmental expense. I never understood why this message wasn't driven home further by the Dems. The only US benefit would have been the temporary jobs needed to build the pipeline for about 2000 workers for a period of two years or less.

[Bohunk68]

4. You got it exactly right.

[Esse Quam Videri]

3. How is the pipeline even able to cross his property

if he doesn't want it to? Private property? What am I missing?

[Not Sure]

5. Because in Texas an oil or gas pipeline operator

is considered a utility, which gives it the authority to construct its infrastructure under eminent domain. The landowners are compensated for the operator's use of their land as in the case of an easement or title to the land used is transferred to the operator.

[staffjam]

6. There's going to be more of this

The Alamo II http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Alamo-II-Texans-Up-in-Arms-over-TransCanada-Land-Grab.html