Kinder Morgan wins Texas court challenge, removing obstacle to $2
billion gas pipeline
Send a link to a friend
[June 26, 2019] By
Liz Hampton
DENVER/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Kinder Morgan
Inc can begin work on a $2 billion natural gas pipeline without having
the Texas energy regulator approve its proposed route, a state judge
ruled on Tuesday.
The decision removes a challenge to the state's licensing process that
lets gas pipeline companies determine their own route and acquire land
without a landowner's consent. Texas is in the midst of a
pipeline-construction boom with multibillion-dollar projects under way
to bring shale oil and gas to market.
A Travis County District court ruled the Texas Railroad Commission, the
state's oil and gas regulator, is not required to set standards for
routing the pipelines or private land-takings, Judge Lora Livingston
wrote on Tuesday. The state allows gas pipeline operators that qualify
as utilities to use eminent domain to take land for the public good.
"The court finds no authority for the proposition that the legislature
has granted authority to the Commission to oversee the rights granted,"
she wrote. She also granted Kinder Morgan's request to dismiss it from
the lawsuit.
A group of Texas landowners and officials had sued to block
construction, arguing the oil and gas regulator failed to seek public
input or properly supervise the routing of Kinder Morgan's Permian
Highway Pipeline, which will carry 2 billion cubic feet per day of
natural gas roughly 400 miles (645 km) from West Texas to the U.S. Gulf
Coast.
Kinder Morgan had asked the court to throw out the landowners' lawsuit,
arguing it was up to the state legislature, not the court, to change the
pipeline permitting process.
"The court's finding validates the process established in Texas for the
development of natural gas utility projects," Tom Martin, a Kinder
Morgan executive, said on Tuesday.
[to top of second column] |
Helmets line a shelf in a control room at Kinder Morgan's Westridge
Terminal on Burrard Inlet in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
November 17, 2017. Picture taken November 17, 2017. REUTERS/Chris
Helgren
U.S. shale gas production in July is projected to hit a record 81.4
billion cubic feet per day, which would be an 18th consecutive monthly
increase. Shale oil could hit 8.52 million barrels per day that same
month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Landowners argued that the pipeline will cross "sensitive environmental
features," such as endangered species habitats, sites of historical
significance and residential subdivisions, according to a filing.
The Texas Real Estate Advocacy and Defense Coalition, which advocates
for Texas landowner rights, said it was weighing an appeal and
additional legal actions in other venues.
The ruling "is unfortunate but not unexpected," said Travis Mitchell,
mayor of Kyle, Texas, a co-plaintiff. "We will be working to determine
the best path forward. We're certainly not giving up."
A spokeswoman for the Railroad Commission of Texas declined to comment.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton; writing by Gary McWilliams; editing by G
Crosse and Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |