Pipelines and privacy debated in Texas

The Texas Railroad Commission is making efforts to more tightly regulate the state’s network of oil and gas pipelines.

The agency has proposed a set of rules designed to provide more transparency when a pipeline operator seeks what is known as “common carrier” status: a designation that automatically gives the operator the power of eminent domain to seize land.

According to the commission’s general counsel, the proposed rules would create a more developed process that would bring “greater confidence” in the common carrier classification and provide more “certainty for both pipelines and landowners.”

The agency is accepting comments on the proposed rules until 25 August.

Texas Railroad Commission

Responsible for 426 000 miles of interstate and intrastate pipelines carrying natural gas, hazardous materials and other substances, the agency has previously been criticised for not doing much more than rubber-stamping applications by pipeline companies that want to lay pipe across the state.

The current system is: if a company wants to obtain a permit for a new pipeline, it submits a one-page form and puts an “x” in the “common carrier” box. A different box is checked to designate if the pipeline could be used by another company, meaning that it is for the public’s common good.

There is no public hearing, and no notice to landowners is required. Once a company fills out the paper and selects a pipeline path, it has authority to condemn property through eminent domain.

Landowners wanting to stop a pipeline from crossing their property can go to court, but litigation can be costly and drag on for years after the pipeline is built.

New rules

If the new rules are adopted, pipeline operators would submit a sworn statement and if asked, provide documentation and any other information needed to support the application.

The commission would have 45 days to review the permit. There are also new provisions for renewing or amending a permit and to revoke a pipeline permit after a hearing.

Pipeline operators say stricter regulations would slow down efforts to transport the resources that lubricate Texas’ economy. Landowners say they want fair offers for their land and that they lose bargaining power when companies haphazardly invoke eminent domain claims.

Edited by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: Fort Worth Star Telegram, New York Times

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/13082014/pipelines-and-privacy-debated-in-texas/