North America Pipelines News

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — TransCanada Corp. will temporarily suspend 

efforts to seize Nebraska land for its much-delayed Keystone XL oil p

ipeline after landowners sued, in what is one obstacle the Canadian 

company still faces in the 1,179-mile project.

A Holt County District judge issued a temporary injunction Thursday, 

eeping TransCanada from invoking eminent domain along the proposed 

Keystone XL route in northern Nebraska while a lawsuit by landowners 

in that county plays out. TransCanada agreed to the order, hoping to get 

an accelerated trial schedule so that it can quickly resolve the legal 

disputes.

A TransCanada spokesman said a similar agreement is being sought in 

southern Nebraska's York County, where landowners have filed another 

lawsuit seeking to keep the Calgary-based company from seizing land 

using eminent domain.

A hearing in Holt County has been set for Feb. 25 on the issue of case 

rogression, TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said.

Last month, TransCanada filed legal papers in nine Nebraska counties to 

nvoke eminent domain for the land that's needed to construct, operate 

and maintain the pipeline. It would go from Canada through Montana 

and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing 

pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to 

refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Nebraska landowners filed their lawsuits last month after the state 

Supreme Court tossed an earlier, similar lawsuit, with three justices 

saying the plaintiffs in the case didn't have standing to sue because 

they didn't prove TransCanada was seeking their land.

Opponents have sought to prevent TransCanada from using eminent 

domain and to overturn a state law that allowed ex-Gov. Dave 

Heineman to approve the pipeline's route through the state in 2013.

The judge's order Thursday made no pronouncements on the merits of 

the case. Such injunctions are common while litigation is pending.

"We expected the temporary injunction order to be issued, as it was," 

said Dave Domina, an attorney for the landowners.

TransCanada said in a statement that 90 percent of Nebraska 

landowners along the Keystone XL route — and 100 percent of those in 

Montana and South Dakota — have agreed to easements to build the 

pipeline. It also said its offers "are generous, and that all landowners 

are treated fairly and respectfully."

The pipeline, first proposed in 2008, still requires presidential approval 

because it crosses an international border. On Wednesday, the 

Republican-controlled Congress cleared a bill to construct the pipeline, 

setting up a confrontation with President Barack Obama, who has 

threatened to veto the measure.