A temporary moratorium on petroleum pipelines in Georgia received approval Tuesday from the state Senate, despite efforts by business leaders to water it down.
House Bill 1036, which has been favored by environmentalists, would place a temporary moratorium on pipeline companies' ability to use eminent domain — an involuntary seizure — for surveying and acquiring private land. During the moratorium, the state's existing Pipeline Act, passed in 1995, would be studied for potential changes. The moratorium would end on June 30, 2017, after a state commission issues its findings and lawmakers possibly act on them.
The legislation was inspired by a controversial proposal to build a 210-mile-long petroleum pipeline along the Savannah River and coastal Georgia by energy giant Kinder Morgan. A Fulton County judge ruled earlier this month that the Texas company can't use eminent domain to take property from unwilling landowners for the project. The ruling upheld a May 2015 decision by the state to deny Kinder Morgan a certificate of "public convenience and necessity," a permit that would allow the pipeline builder to secure its route.
The Georgia Chamber on Tuesday had pressed the Senate to amend the bill and allow pipeline companies to continue to receive construction and environmental permits and also buy land from willing landowners while the state studied the issue. That effort failed, though.
Instead, the Senate approved allowing the companies to only maintain existing pipelines. It would also allow the companies to apply for permits during the moratorium, but the state is barred from approving the permits until the moratorium ends.
HB 1036, which passed on a 53-1 vote, now goes back to the state House for review.
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