A group of Texas rice farmers is challenging a Canadian company’s right to condemn land to build a pipeline to carry crude from Alberta to the Gulf Coast.
The Texas Rice Land Partners will appear before a judge in Beaumont on Wednesday. The group argues TransCanada Corp. cannot condemn land for the pipeline because of a recent state Supreme Court ruling that says a company must prove its pipeline is for the “common” good before it can take private property.
Several similar cases are weaving their way through Texas courts.
TransCanada’s plan to build a 1,179-mile pipeline has been rejected by President Barack Obama. While it redesigns that project, it is moving ahead with a southern portion that doesn’t require presidential approval because it does not cross an international boundary.
