The Vital Importance of Pipeline and Transmission Infrastructure to Decarbonization - Energy Law Insights
Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
Nota Bene Episode 97: The Seismic Changes Renewables Are Bringing to Energy Transmission and Its Infrastructure with Mark Sundback
Policy Minute: TSA Cybersecurity Roadmap for Pipelines
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently announced two important rules in two eminent domain opinions. Both cases involved pipeline access easements that the condemnor properly took under the Natural Gas Act....more
In a February 7, 2025 decision in Simon v. Sunoco Pipeline LP, No. 2015-3302 (Wash. Cty. February 7, 2025), the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania concluded that Sunoco Pipeline LP and Sunoco Logistics...more
With the frequency of wildfires and flooding, landslides are becoming more frequent throughout California. When public agencies have water pipelines located in hillsides, the situation presents the classic “chicken or egg”...more
Our office routinely handles utility takings, which often involve partial takings of easements for transmission lines or pipelines. As governments attempt to improve the electrical grid to support the transportation of wind...more
Last week, a court called into question whether a condemnation by a gas utility was for a “public use,” even though the take was initiated by an entity that had the statutory authority to enter, condemn and appropriate land....more
In WBI Energy Transmission, Inc. v. Easement and Right-of-Way Across, WBI Energy Transmission’s "Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence or Testimony of Other Easement Transactions” was denied in a ruling filed April 1, 2021....more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently invited public comment on environmental justice matters it may consider in future natural gas pipeline certificate proceedings, reopening a three-year-old notice and...more
Adding another chapter to the legal controversies that continue to rage over the siting of new gas pipelines, on September 10, 2019 the Third Circuit upheld the State of New Jersey’s sovereign immunity objection to the...more
On May 31, the Iowa Supreme Court decided Texas-based company, Dakota Access, lawfully used the state’s power of eminent domain to seize land from Iowa citizens for the Bakken oil pipeline. The decision follows the...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled against a Roman Catholic group challenging the use of their land in connection with an interstate natural gas pipeline. The Adorers of the Blood of Christ...more
Consumers Power has filed multiple lawsuits using eminent domain. I previously wrote Consumers Energy to Reconstruct Line 2800 Pipeline, a 24" Natural Gas Pipeline describing a new pipeline being constructed by Consumers....more
Property owners whose land will be taken for the Sabal Trail Transmission LLC’s natural gas pipeline should be compensated under Florida law rather than federal rules, a Florida federal judge ruled....more
ET Rover’s pipeline construction activities in Ohio for the same pipeline that is being built in Lenawee and Washtenaw Counties in Michigan result in multiple environmental and other violations, leaving some to believe that...more
An intermediate Texas appellate court has called for an extensive jury role in the ongoing issue of determining when a pipeline is a common carrier. Common carrier status is critical to the pipeline company’s ability to use...more
Private property rights advocates scored a big victory in a Texas condemnation case in the ongoing battle between pipelines and landowners over the power of eminent domain. (See our last post for a decision with the opposite...more