Bill turns into battle over eminent domain rights
“A bill that began as a simple, technical change to a 19t-century statute has turned into a much bigger battle over whether the state should grant eminent domain rights to oil and petroleum companies.
Sponsors of Senate Bill 13-021 claim the bill would merely make a technical correction in state law to add petroleum to the list of the kinds of things that can go through a pipeline.
Since 1963, Sinclair Oil has had an easement for a six-inch high-pressure oil pipeline on lands owned by Donna and Ivar Larson of Johnstown. The pipeline carries about a million gallons of petroleum a day from Sinclair, Wyoming to Henderson, Colorado and eventually to Denver International Airport. Ten years ago, the company sought an additional easement to install a 10-inch line that would carry two million gallons per day, a request the Larsons turned down in part because of safety concerns. The company then attempted to use its perceived power of eminent domain to obtain the land, and that led to a lawsuit. The case went all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Last year, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed with the Larsons. In its decision on Larson v. Sinclair Transportation, the Court said that the statute granted the right of eminent domain only to companies that seek right-of-way on pipelines for electrical power or natural gas. It rejected Sinclair’s claim of eminent domain with regard to land it would use for oil pipelines.
The Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee held two hearings about SB 21 in the past several weeks. During a Jan. 29 hearing, Andy Karsian of Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI) noted that the original statute limited powers of eminent domain to government entities for the public good or for specific for-profit companies that also acted for the public good. “It’s telling” that oil pipelines were not included in the statute, Karsian said. Eminent domain should be narrowly defined to avoid harming the property rights of private citizens, he explained. CCI, which represents county commissioners throughout Colorado, opposes the bill.
Attorney Ben Cohen, who represents the Larsons, told the Ag Committee that based on his research, oil companies, with “perceived authority of eminent domain,” have for many years obtained land for pipelines through condemnation proceedings. Few landowners, including those in rural areas, have the resources to fight those proceedings, he said. Ivar Larson told the committee that he and his wife borrowed $2 million to cover the legal expenses it would take to fight Sinclair in court.”
Goodland, Marianne. Julesburg Advocate 21 February 2013.
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