Judge: Pipeline owners trespassed, but work can continue
Source: Associated Press
Kevin Mcgill, Associated Press
Updated 10:16 pm CST, Thursday, December 6, 2018
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana judge ruled Thursday that a company building an oil pipeline through south Louisiana trespassed on the land of three people opposed to the project, but he allowed the work to continue while awarding the three only $150 apiece in compensation and damages.
Judge Keith Comeaux's ruling Thursday said the land was seized for a legitimate public purpose, and that the land in dispute was of little value to its out-of-state owners. His ruling disappointed opponents of the nearly complete Bayou Bridge Pipeline, who said they would appeal.
Opponents had hoped the St. Martinville-based judge would order the pipeline removed from the relatively small amount of land involved, a small fraction of a 38-acre (15-hectare) tract. Barring that, they had hoped for a major damage award to discourage other corporations from illegally taking land.
. . .
Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC is a joint venture of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners and Phillips 66. Energy Transfer Partners built the Dakota Access pipeline, a project that sparked a string of violent clashes between protesters and police in North Dakota in 2016 and 2017. The Bayou Bridge pipeline is the last link in a pipeline network connecting the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota with Louisiana refineries and export terminals.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Judge-Pipeline-owners-trespassed-but-work-can-13448583.php
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