Domina Law Group Managing Lawyer Brian Jorde was quoted by Reuters for an article about the growing landowner opposition against several controversial carbon pipeline projects and how it resembles previous legal battles against oil pipelines.
As reported by Reuters, landowners in five Midwest states are fighting several high-profile carbon pipeline projects proposed by energy companies such as Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigate CO2 Ventures, and Wolf Carbon Solutions. They’re also receiving support from some of the country’s most prominent anti-pipeline campaigners, including the same environmental organizations that fought the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines.
This includes the non-profit Sierra Club and Bold Alliance, which have teamed up with local organizations to help property owners in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. And in a battle that’s shaping up to be a big one, they’re applying many of the lessons learned in the campaigns against the oil pipelines.
There are also similarities in the reasons for opposing pipelines, including concerns about the environmental impact, the risk that carbon sequestration would allow oil fields to continue operating longer, and the unproven safety and efficacy of long-term underground carbon storage.
For many landowners, the fight is also a battle over property rights, with many opposing the projects over the potential effects on farmland and drainage systems, health concerns, and the controversial attempts of pipeline companies to use eminent domain – a right typically reserved for the government and public use projects – to access private property.
As Reuters reports, Domina Law Attorney Brian Jorde is one of the advocates using his experience helping landowners defeat the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline in the new battle against carbon pipelines. Jorde and our firm represent hundreds of landowners in all states where carbon pipelines have been proposed and are employing similar tactics as those used in the Keystone XL litigation. This includes educating landowners about their property rights and representing their interests in legal challenges through collective organizations such as the Iowa Easement Team.
As Jorde told Reuters, landowners are understandably upset over the potential threat to their health and land, and especially about the prospect of being forced to relinquish access to their property for a private company to reap massive profits.
You can read the full Reuters article featuring Brian Jorde here.