Keystone XL: Lawsuit halts TransCanada land acquisitions
“A Nebraska judge has halted condemnation of private land for the Keystone XL pipeline, while new legal challenges to the project make their way through the courts.
Nearly 70 landowners sought the temporary injunction Thursday to block TransCanada Corp. from using eminent domain to secure right-of-way for the controversial oil pipeline.
Holt County District Judge Mark Kozisek ordered a stop to land acquisition until the landowners’ lawsuit is resolved. Jane Kleeb, director of the environmental advocacy group Bold Nebraska, which opposes the pipeline primarily over the threat to a vital underground aquifer, called the decision a victory for landowners who’ve refused voluntary agreements with the company.
“We will … see them in our Supreme Court to finally get clarity on the legality of a foreign corporation using eminent domain for private gain,” she said in an email after the hearing at the courthouse in O’Neill.”
Duggan, Joe. Omaha.com 13 February 2015.