Pipeline Builders Abuse Eminent Domain
How FERC denies landowners the right to meaningful appeal.
Across the country activists are speaking out against the use of eminent domain to construct natural-gas pipelines. Some have climbed trees and refused to come down. The agency in charge of approving these pipelines—the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC—is reconsidering how eminent domain, by which the government legally expropriates private property for public purposes, is used.
While we stand with those who stand for individual rights—and enjoy a good tree-climb—protests like these can only go so far. The U.S....