Watch Brian Jorde Testimony Here
Senator Bill Avery’s Legislative Bill 1134 designed to streamline and coordinate Nebraska’s divergent and abundant Eminent Domain and Condemnation related statues was heard by the State Senate Judiciary Committee on February 15, 2012.
Brian Jorde testified in support of the Bill as an important step in bringing more transparency to the process whereby the Government or “Agencies” approach and communicate with Landowners a desire to acquire their land based on rights of Eminent Domain. “Landowners are not familiar with Eminent Domain and Condemnation nor do they fully understand their rights and remedies available. Most landowners assume the Government can just take their land anyway and consequently don’t realize they have a say in the matter and certainly a choice as to accept a monetary offer from the government or to put on evidence to support a higher land valuation” Jorde stated. “It is important our citizens, the voters, are on as much an even playing field as possible when on the other side of Agencies that are well versed and professionals in understanding this process and the tools available to them. As we recently learned in the TransCanada debate we must take action to curb private corporations as well as the Government from using eminent domain as a threat during negotiations to drive down the price the landowner will receive for their land being taken” Jorde concluded.
LB 1161 Amendment Requires Nebraskans to Pay up to $2mm for TransCanada's Due Diligence
An Amendment proposed to LB 1161 seeks to exempt TransCanada from having to comply with the Major Oil Pipeline Sitting Act that was passed recently in Nebraska’s Special Legislative Session. See lines 12-18 on page 3. Page 3 line 27 to Page 4 line 2 seeks to add the ability of the NDEQ to jointly review potential siting of an oil pipeline route not only with a federal agency but with “a pipeline carrier” i.e. TransCanada alone.
Page 4 lines 8 through 22 seek to obligate the taxpayers to foot the bill for reviewing TransCanada’s proposed pipeline rather than having TransCanada pay Nebraska and it seeks to broaden what the state is obligated to pay for beyond just a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to an non defined phrase “or similar study or evaluation of the route of an oil pipeline.” Essentially, TransCanada proposes Nebraskans should pay for its due diligence and research related to any study or evaluation of any route of its proposed KeystoneXL Pipeline.
An amount of $2,000,000 of your taxpayer dollars has already been allocated for this purpose. So if TransCanada does eventually get permission to run its crude oil pipeline through Nebraska the first $2,000,000 of any tax revenue, if any, will not even get Nebraska back to break even after present value and interest calculations.