Energy Sector Abuses Individual Property Rights

Evidence suggests the U. S. Department of Energy misused eminent domain to accelerate the construction of a transmission line project. Authorized by Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Department of Energy published a Request for Proposals in June of 2010 and quickly accepted $100,000,000 from Clean Line Energy Partners to push its Plains and Eastern transmission project forward. The project just completed its Public Scoping Period and is now in the process of preparing an Environmental Impact Statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.  

Clean Line Energy has already begun the right-of-way acquisition process in Oklahoma. Private landowners in the transmission line’s path can expect to have a strip of land about 150 to 250 feet wide claimed for “public use”. Though the project’s expected cost is approximately $2 billion, Clean Line Energy and the project’s other investors can expect a major payoff, considering that the line will provide energy to much of the Southeastern United States. National Grid, one of the largest international energy companies, recently invested $40 million in Clean Line Energy, confident in the company’s future growth.

The controversy surrounding the Plains and Eastern Clean Line deals with the use of eminent domain for economic benefit which has increasingly become an issue in the U.S. In the same year that the Energy Policy Act was passed, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the Kelo v. City of New London case which arose when the city of New London, Con., condemned privately owned land and gave it to another private corporation to construct a pharmaceutical research center. The case expanded the constitutional definition of “public use” to include economic benefit, even if corporations are the primary benefiters.

Bill Murray of Kingfisher, Okla., is one such landowner dealing with the effects of condemnation for economic public use. In 2009, OG&E built an overhead transmission line across his property.

Of the public scoping meetings, he says, “There were different tables that explain the power lines, the poles that are going to be used, some of the adverse health effects that are to be expected, which they claim is none. But these guys are here to sell us a product. I know they’re going to be one-sided.”

Clean Line Energy claims that after construction is completed, the land under the line will still be useable for crops and livestock grazing. They claim that there are no harmful effects to exposure to the transmission line. The company claims that they take land use into account as they negotiate with individual landowners.

Murray claims that his and other right-of-way cases that he has heard of are rarely ever fair.

“Never take their first offer. We got an attorney out of Madill and took OG&E to court, but they didn’t pay us even close to [a fair market price], not even half of that. It’s just ridiculous what [private corporations] are allowed to do.”

Clean Line Energy is currently entering into negotiations with private landowners across Oklahoma and is still waiting to receive public utility status in Arkansas. While this line is a step toward cleaner, wind-generated energy for the U.S., Oklahoma property owners’ rights are taking another hit for the sake of the energy sector’s expansion.

Kingfisher Landowner Shares Eminent Domain Experience

Private landowners in Oklahoma are beginning negotiations with Clean Line Energy Partners who is seeking a right-of-way easement to begin construction on its Plains and Eastern transmission project, a power line that will transport energy from the Oklahoma Panhandle, across Arkansas, and into western Tennessee. Bill Murray of Kingfisher, Okla. can relate to the landowers' current struggle. In 2007, Murray and his wife were notified that their land was being condemned for public use by OG&E Energy Corporation. They were not originally in the power line’s path. However, as he describes in this video, OG&E changed its mind after meetings with private landowners. Murray and his family originally bought the scenic piece of property to build their dream home with a view. The power line, however, crossed exactly where the house would have been built. He feels that major corporations such as Clean Line Energy and OG&E abuse eminent domain authority to make a profit.

VIDEO: Catherine Combes, 1:35

Partisan Support for Keystone XL Says Report

A recent report suggests that public support for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline falls along partisan lines. The Pew Research Center recently found that over 80% of Republicans are in favor of TransCanada’s building the massive pipeline while only a little over half of Democrats are as enthusiastic.

Oklahoma Governor and Republican Mary Fallin has shown her support for the pipeline numerous times, stating that the proposed pipeline would boost the state’s energy sector and create new construction jobs for Oklahomans. Numerous times since President Barak Obama’s 2012 rejection of TransCanada’s application, Governor Fallin has expressed her frustration with the project’s continued delays.

TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline has long been a subject of debate since its initial proposal in early 2005. The pipeline would carry synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen from Alberta, Canada to refineries in the Gulf Coast of Texas. President Obama has considered the plan for several years, even visiting the Cushing, Okla. oil refinery in March 2012 where he announced his support for the project.

Celia Mata, an environmental sustainability major at the University of Oklahoma, has a long list of reasons why she feels Keystone XL is a bad idea.

“[The Keystone XL pipeline] goes through so many environmentally sensitive areas…These pipelines leak all the time,” says Mata. “The oil coming through that pipeline is from the tar sands. There are so many issues with that oil.”

Risk assessors and environmentalists argue the same, claiming that TransCanada’s worst-case spill assessment is conservative and ignores the historical trend that pipelines transporting diluted bitumen tend to leak more than those carrying conventional crude oil. 

Oklahomans must consider the major environmental and economic impact the pipeline presents as it stretches over 1,100 miles. In the meantime, the US Department of State continues to review the Keystone XL proposal before it will submit the application for Pres. Obama to reconsider.

Women Find Home in Oklahoma Roller Derby

Due to films such as Whip It, many Oklahoma women are making themselves at home in the growing roller derby community. The film’s empowering, no-nonsense message and aesthetics have brought several newcomers and a flood of media coverage to the sport in the past four years.

Bliss, a misfit, discovers her identity when
she joins the Hurl Scouts and becomes Babe
Ruthless. PHOTO: 20th Century Fox Studios

 Roller derby’s revival is especially evident in Oklahoma as leagues have sprung up across the state. The South Central Roller Girls, for example, first began in Ardmore in 2010. They now call the Arbuckle Ballroom in Davis home so that more women from the Ada and Davis areas can participate according to Ada Evening News.

Women are looking for what roller derby has to offer. In an article by The Journal Record, one Oklahoma skater said, “Every time you ask someone what’s going on or what you do for fun, it’s the same thing over and over again. We can change that.”

But just what exactly is so exciting about roller derby, other than the gruesome bruises? Well, each player’s name is as unique as her fingerprint. Law professor David Fagundes examines the legality behind the intellectual property of roller derby names in his recent article “Talk Derby to Me”. The Women’s Flat-Track Roller Derby Association’s Master Roster takes a stab at name protection. There is also an unwritten rule that name stealing is a major faux pas. The skaters Fagundes interviews prove that when they become defensive at the mere suggestion.

A derby girl’s identity is not complete without her fishnets, tattoos, safety gear and, most importantly, her skates. Dressing for the part isn’t cheap though.

The Tornado Alley Rollergirls,
one of Oklahoma's top derby teams,
formed over seven years ago.
PHOTO: Oklahoma City Roller
Derby League

Pamela Chapman, or “Lolo Beach”, skater and off-skate workout coach for the South Central Roller Girls says, “When we have away bouts, the league usually covers our hotel and stuff like that, but we have to buy all our own gear and stuff. People don’t realize it’s an expensive sport.”

Chapman’s Pinterest account is evidence of her obsession with the sport’s unique aesthetic. She devotes entire boards to tattoo ideas, workouts, hair and makeup and derby cartoons and cultural icons.

 According to Dr. Carly Michelle Gieseler, recent University of South Florida graduate, women often play roller derby to reclaim their bodies from the limitations of mainstream ideals of femininity in sports. Audiences see derby girls in their most brutally competitive moments unlike the gracefully composed participants of more traditional sports.

South Central Roller Girls team captain Katie Hoff, or “Hoff the Chain”, says that derby gives women a different set of cultural standards.

 “Anybody can play,” says Hoff. “It can be big girls or little small girls. There’s a place for everybody in roller derby.”

To witness an actual bout and possibly meet an Oklahoma roller derby girl, go watch the Tornado Alley Roller Girls take on the ICT Roller Girls of Wichita, Kan., on April 20. Ticket information can be found at www.okcrd.com/schedule-location/. 

A Different Kind of Derby Girl: Midterm Project

Katie Hoff, or Hoff the Chain as she is called in the derby world, is team captain of the South Central Derby Girls of Davis and Ada, Oklahoma and the mother goose of her team. Organizing bouts, looking out for teammates and making it all flow are second-hand to her. However, she is not your typical mom. Bruises are her trophies, and she practices giving and taking hits. Teammate and close friend Pamela Chapman whose derby alias is Lolo Beach can testify to this. Every Sunday, the team practices at the Arbuckle Ballroom in Davis, Oklahoma. They graciously allowed me to watch them at work.


VIDEO: Catherine Combes, Runtime 1:39

Full Circle SOP Slide Show

VIDEO: Catherine Combes, Runtime 1:11

Full Circle Bookstore, one of my favorite places, is an independent bookstore in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This slide show takes viewers through the store through images and audio.

Internet Privacy Becoming Issue of Foreign Policy

Chris Soghoian urged companies to stop storing private data. He spoke Tuesday morning about the dangers of government surveillance through corporations and social media companies. The event was part of a symposium held at the University of Oklahoma titled “The Future of Privacy in a Socially Networked World”.

Soghoian works in Washington, D.C. to educate policy makers.
PHOTO: Matt Dyer

Soghoian, Principal Technologist and Senior Policy Analyst with the Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, explained that the United States government legally requires companies to hand over any requested personal information that clients entrust to them in an effort to monitor criminal activity.

“Something that, 20 years ago, would have required an FBI agent to go out into the field to discover, can now be done from the comfort of [an agent’s] desk,” said Soghoian.

Soghoian claims the current Internet privacy policy is wrong because citizens have no option except to present their information to companies who have to release it to the government.

Specifically of Facebook, Soghoian says, “Their business model is to screw you, and then apologize later. You don’t have a choice. It’s Facebook or the highway. And that means not knowing what’s going on.

The issue is not just an infringement upon personal privacy. Soghoian pointed to China’s recent hacking of major U.S. companies as well as the 2005 Athen’s Affair where an outside force hacked the phones of several high-ranking Greek officials including the prime minister.

There was limited seating in the Gaylord Auditorium Tuesday.
PHOTO: Matt Dyer

According to socialbakers.com, over 163 million U.S. citizens have a Facebook profile. Alex Dean, a junior broadcasting major at OU, is one of them.

“I had just never thought about how our lack of privacy transcends borders,” says Dean. “Online, we really are all one nation.”

Soghoian pointed out near the end of Tuesday’s event that Internet privacy will become more question of foreign policy and less of civil liberties in the future. More information about Soghoian’s work can be found at www.aclu.org/protecting-civil-liberties-digital-age.