TransCanada: This land is our land

The project may be on hold but that hasn't stopped TransCanada from pursuing land takings in Texas by eminent domain to build the damn Keystone XL pipeline. They don't need federal approval to do that part. Apparently Texas is happy to help. Thankfully, at least one landowner is fighting back.

TransCanada claims they have the right to simply take the easements under the aegis of common carrier law. The Texas Railroad Commission is backing them up, though that may not be true forever. The easy granting of common carrier status is currently being litigated in some courts.

It's not clear to me the landowners get any kind of compensation at all for being forced to risk their land to potential toxic spills. Which in the case of TransCanada would seem to be virtually assured to happen.

That fabulous invisible hand of the free market just gets to take what it wants I guess. Wondering why I haven't seen any libertarians howling about rent seeking.

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]