March 10, 2021 3:50 a.m.

Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have reintroduced legislation they say would strengthen the rights of landowners facing eminent domain claims from private companies they contend are exploiting public interest provisions to confiscate property in Oregon and nationwide for natural gas pipeline development.

A joint release said the bills, which Wyden and Merkley first introduced last fall, come in response to the natural gas industry’s increased use of eminent domain for pipeline development. The senator’s claim that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has failed to protect landowner’s rights and point to the potential pipeline path for the proposed Jordan Cove as providing “…a clear example of that alarming trend”. ‘

The release said Wyden’s Landowner Fairness Act would end the legal presumption that gas exports are by definition in the public interest. Merkley’s Ending Natural Gas Companies Seizure of Land for Export Profits Act would prohibit companies building export pipelines from using eminent domain claims on private lands.

A link to the full release regarding the legislation is posted: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-reintroduce-legislation-to-defend-property-owners-rights-from-eminent-domain-claims-for-natural-gas-pipelines