Hastings, NE — This morning, the board of directors of the Nebraska Easement Action Team (NEAT), a non-profit legal defense fund that works to protect Nebraska landowners and citizens who stand to be affected by the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, passed a critical new resolution expressing concerns about TransCanada’s behavior and tactics toward Nebraska landowners.

The resolution, which will be sent to the Nebraska State Legislature, President Obama, and Secretary Kerry, highlights the substantial evidence that TransCanada “has engaged in false, misleading dealings with Nebraska landowners across whose land TransCanada seeks Easement Deeds”, demanding an investigation into TransCanada’s tactics, as well as calling on the Legislature to rescind TransCanada’s power of eminent domain and on the President to reject the presidential permit for Keystone XL.

This recent resolution is part of a larger campaign by Nebraska landowners to prevent TransCanada from building the tar sands export pipeline through their land, including an ongoing lawsuit which contends that the State Legislature unconstitutionally gave Governor Dave Heineman the authority to give power of eminent domain over Nebraska landowners to TransCanada, in spite of the fact that it is a private foreign company.

David A. Domina, a Nebraska lawyer who works with NEAT, commented on the resolution: “NEAT was formed to protect property owners from the highly questionable tactics of a foreign oil company that has not played fair with property owners.  NEAT’s goal is to help farmers and ranchers be assured fair terms and a fair price if or when the pipeline is built. Recent TransCanada conduct has reached a new low in dealing with landowners.  NEAT’s Board is responding to alert neighbors to the new tactics, raise awareness of issues, and inform elected officials of the problem. The issue here is how to be a neighbor. It is not whether a pipeline is good or bad, or jobs will or will not be created. It is about the behavior of a company. TransCanada does not seem to understand that good neighboring starts with telling the truth.”

Tom Genung, a NEAT Board Member, said: “TransCanada is out bullying landowners while they pretend the State Department’s report paves the way for their risky pipeline. Our property rights are threatened and questions about pipeline ownership, exact chemical makeup of pipeline contents and what a worst case spill will do a family’s well or property value have yet to be answered.”

Joe Moller, another member of the NEAT Board, added, “As a volunteer firefighter I am distressed that the State Department report ignores the layers of risks on communities and landowners. While the report finally acknowledges what we all know, that tar sands sinks in water, our landowners and volunteer fire fighters are ill-equipped to deal with this massive export pipeline.”