The U.S. House of Representatives will likely approve TransCanada's controversial pipeline project, which hasn't stopped Nebraska landowners from fighting it.
Next week, the House of Representatives, which is controlled by a Republican majority, is expected to approve the construction and route of Keystone XL, the pipeline that would transport more than 800,000 barrels of crude a day, tar-sands oil from Canada, through Nebraska, and down to the Gulf Coast. Ultimately, the pipeline needs presidential approval because it crosses an international border.
The attorneys spearheading the fight against KXL on behalf of Nebraska landowners, Dave Domina and Brian Jorde, continue to battle the pipeline even after three Nebraska Supreme Court Justices sat out and refused to vote on the first lawsuit, meaning the unconstitutionality claim could not stand.
After this event, TransCanada began filing eminent domain paperwork to take control of Nebraskan's land. Domina and Jorde filed new, dual lawsuits against TransCanada. So what happens to landowners who receive condemnation notices?
"It would mean each person who receives a condemnation notice would then be subject to the court's powers of eminent domain," said Jorde.
There are about 90 landowners left in Nebraska who have yet to sign easement agreements to give up their property to TransCanada, despite hefty offers. Although the landowners have begun to receive these notices, they will continue to fight back until President Obama makes a decision.
Read more from CCTV America: Nebraskans fight Keystone XL as U.S. House poised to approve pipeline