Miles of Pipelines, Inches of Regulation
Pipelines, Pipelines Everywhere
New pipelines are being built and old ones are being extended constantly. According to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), which tracks and “regulates” pipelines across the state, there are 465,025 miles of oil and gas pipelines across Texas. That’s enough to go around the world more than 18 times!
Despite the abundance of pipelines, the state government’s role in approving pipeline routes is surprisingly minimal.
How are Pipelines Approved in Texas?
Surely someone has to sign off on where pipelines go, right?
Not really. Here’s what the RRC’s website says about pipeline routes: “In Texas, pipelines are not required to be permitted before being built. There is no statutory or regulatory requirement that a pipeline operator seek or receive from the Railroad Commission either a determination that there is a need for the pipeline capacity or prior approval to construct a pipeline and related facilities. . . . Generally, the Railroad Commission has no authority over the routing or siting of intrastate or interstate pipelines. The pipeline route is determined by the pipeline’s owner/operator.”
In other words: Texas pipeline operators decide their own routes.
They typically file a Form T-4 with the RRC to operate, but the state does not review the necessity, path, or impact of the route.
What if Your Property Is in the Way?
Pipeline companies acting as common carriers or utilities usually have the right to exercise eminent domain powers, meaning they can forcibly acquire private land even if the landowner objects. In addition, they have no substantive limitations on the path they choose.
If your property is unfortunate enough to find itself on the route of a new pipeline, there’s often little you can do to reroute the project.
The lack of meaningful regulation means that pipeline operators are not required to:
take the most direct route;
avoid valuable land;
choose the most environmentally friendly path; or
limit negative impacts on the landowners’ property.
Instead, they can select routes based on building and maintenance costs, convenience, and sometimes even speculative future use.
Because of this, landowners are often left frustrated and confused—unsure why their land was chosen or what rights they have.
Wrapping It All Up
Given current economic realities, communities need access to natural gas, water, oil, and other resources that pipelines transport. While the population as a whole heavily relies on what’s shipped through pipelines, these lines can be a huge burden on the landowners whose land is taken to build them.
Cobb & Johns and other landowner-side firms are working hard to keep pipeline companies accountable. Sometimes there are opportunities to shut down a pipeline—which is what almost every landowner should want. But in cases where rerouting or preventing the line isn’t possible, landowners need to get every single dollar of “just compensation” that the law allows.
Cobb & Johns remains committed to protecting property rights and representing clients with a just cause. For more information, please contact us at 512-399-3150 or visit www.cobbjohns.com.