1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i This Land Is Your Land? Eminent Domain Under the Natural Gas Act and State Sovereign Immunity October 30, 2019 In passing the Natural Gas Act of 1938, Congress acknowledged that interstate natural gas pip
2、elines and other natural gas transmission facilities serve the public interest. To facilitate the land acquisition process for pipelines, Congress amended the Natural Gas Act in 1947 to permit natural gas companies to exercise the power of federal eminent domain. But pipeline routes can require more
3、 than just privately owned property. In 2018, a pipeline construction company sought to exercise eminent domain over land set aside by the State of New Jersey for agriculture, conservation, and recreation. When New Jersey opposed the eminent domain action, the ensuing court battle set up a clash of
4、two powers: the pipeline companys eminent domain power and New Jerseys power to control state lands and retain its sovereign immunity against the pipeline company. The Third Circuits opinion in PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC v. New Jersey calls into doubt whether the Natural Gas Act permits natural
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