Real Estate & Property Law

Positives and Negatives of a Pipeline

By Alan Ackerman

The Great Falls Tribune article reviews the balancing act that is involved in pipeline construction.  On the one hand, there is a negative effect on the environment by the soil that is destroyed as well as the potential for increased greenhouse gases.  Further, fair compensation is frequently an issue.  Yet, one has to note that Dawson County commissioners believe that literally hundreds of millions of dollars will be raised for the county tax base because of the additional infrastructure being built.  The fact that the gas line crosses international boundaries is of little value to those objecting to the pipeline expansion.

Great Falls Tribune

Tom Rudolph, a farmer from Circle, and co-chair of the Northern Plains Pipeline Landowners Group, said he's not against the pipeline but applauds Waxman's call for more transparency in the government's review process.

He said the application for the Keystone XL pipeline doesn't adequately address safety issues, such as the possibility of a spill. He added that he would like to see the government's eminent domain power to condemn property removed for this project.

"As long as they have that, they can force us into a deal and we don't have any real power to negotiate to get our needs met," Rudolph said.

Jim Skillestad, a Dawson County commissioner, said major concerns have been addressed, including safety. He said opponents are using arguments that are "way overboard" to get Clinton's attention.

"It's going across my property and I'm not the least bit concerned about it," he said. "The chance of a (spill) happening is so, so slim."

The pipeline would bring a lot of money to Dawson County: $274 million over 25 years. Most of it would go to reduce school taxes but more than $3 million annually would go to the county, a sizeable shot in the arm for a county whose budget is about $16 million a year, Skillestad said.

The commissioner also said he is satisfied that road expansions to accommodate the oversized trucks needed to carry the modules for the pipeline would not create a permanent "high-and-wide" corridor through Montana as some opponents fear.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on July 16, 2010 (boomark / email).