Eminent domain oil bill gets out of committee Senate Bill 13-191 out on party line vote
“Senate Bill 13-191 survived a close vote in the Senate Local Government Committee Thursday, passing on a party-line 3-2 vote.
But the bill did not leave the local government committee unscathed. Two amendments were added to address concerns about the bill’s impact on irrigation ditch companies and to protect private property rights.
As introduced, SB 191 would grant oil companies eminent domain and condemnation rights for rights-of-way for pipelines, rights that the companies have believed for decades they already had.
The bill stems from a 2012 Colorado Supreme Court decision, Larson v. Sinclair Transportation. The Court told Sinclair it never had eminent domain or condemnation rights under state law. Current law grants those rights to natural gas and electric companies that require rights of way for transmission purposes. In the Larson case, Sinclair used its alleged condemnation rights to obtain an easement for a 10-inch pipeline that transports two million gallons of jet fuel per day from Wyoming to Denver International Airport. A lower court granted Sinclair’s request, which was challenged by the landowners, Ivar and Donna Larson of Johnstown.”
Goodland, Marianne. Journal Advocate 23 March 2013.