Julia's dog stands guard on her land next to markers placed by the oil company. Photo: Stand with Julia campaign“It is a sad day here at Red’Arc Farm as I watch TransCanada’s work crew cut my fence and start putting survey markers all across my pasture. Their actions just strengthen my resolve to continue fighting this battle and appeal the ruling to a higher court,” says Julia Trigg Crawford.
In Direct, Texas (a little bitty town near Paris, in NE Texas), farm manager Julia Trigg Crawford manages a 600-acre farm that’s been in her family since 1948. Canadian pipeline company, TransCanada, threatens her family’s health and their farm that is adjacent to the Red River.
Mega-corporation, TransCanada, the company proposing the Keystone XL project, wants to seize parts of the Crawford’s land to build a 36” pipeline that will pump corrosive tar sands — at a pressure far higher than conventional oil – down to refineries in South Texas. When TransCanada came knocking to try and buy the Crawford family land, Julia Trigg did not want to sell.
Crawford Family. Photo: Stand with Julia campaignAfter the Crawford family refused to sell to TransCanada, the next step for this foreign company was to condemn their land. They legally had the power to do this because – and you’re not going to believe this – they simply checked a box on a “T4” form for the Texas Railroad Commission (the body that regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas) that says ‘common carrier.’ Common carrier status carries with it the power of eminent domain – the right to seize property. Meanwhile, the Railroad Commission openly states that they have no regulatory authority to make sure that a private company does not abuse the power of eminent domain. And, guess what, the Commission filed an amicus letter stating that they wanted to keep things the way they are.
Julia Trigg Crawford is a 6’0” former star basketball player for Texas A&M – the Governor’s alma mater. So far, the Governor and our two US Senators, Cornyn and Hutchison, are siding with TransCanada and apparently see no problem with the abuse of eminent domain in Texas.
The point is that ordinary Texans do see a real problem with eminent domain and they are standing behind Julia Trigg Crawford and her family.
