In order for landowners to have the most power in negotiations with TransCanada, we need as many landowners affected by the proposed route to join and become Supporters of NEAT. The old saying there is strength in numbers is never truer for what we are facing now.

TransCanada has endless amounts of resources, what we have is what they want—land and access to our land – so why give it away? If they can tell elected officials everyone voluntarily signed up with them the impression is that everyone is 100% okay with their proposed project and their contract terms.

Whether you agree with TransCanada’s tarsands pipeline or not, we can all agree if this project gets approved and our families have to live with a pipeline on our property for 50-100 years (or more). Because of this simple fact we have no choice but to ensure the TERMS of the easement/contract are in our favor, not TransCanada. We should be writing our contract, not TransCanada.

Here are just a few items that are in TransCanada’s version of the Easement contract favor them and hurt you.

1)    Abandonment of Pipe: TransCanada is saying they have the right to simply abandon the pipe in the ground at any time. Is this a good deal for you? What happens when the tarsands are all gone, too expensive to mine, or when TransCanada doesn’t exist anymore?

2)    Oil Spill Liability: TransCanada likes to tell folks federal law takes care of all the liability around oil spills. Why don’t you ask someone in the Gulf Coast how this is working out? TransCanada has suggested you buy an insurance policy to protect from a spill of their product. Yes, you pay the premiums forever but they pay you only once at Easement signing.

3)    Access to Land: TransCanada wants to come and go as they please on your land for maintenance, surveying and more. What do you think about more clear guidelines and timing notifications and defining why and they can enter your land and your rights of refusal?

4)    Ownership of Pipe: Right now TransCanada could sell the pipeline to another company, international or otherwise, and that new company would just assume ownership of the easement on your land. Would you like a Chinese corporation or other to have the rights to get on your land whenever it chooses and to tell you what you can and can’t do?

5)    Money: TransCanada is trying their best to lure folks in with dollar signs to take you off the real issues at hand – all the fine print of the Easement. They want your land. They need your land. You have the upper hand. They have lots more money to pay out for easements, so now is not the time to sign with their contract and for money that is certainly lower than what they can and should pay. The Omaha World Herald reported on June 17, 2012 that current offers are now 4 times higher than TransCanada’s “best” offers a year ago. What a good neighbor.

The time is now to prepare and take action. Join your neighbors who are already NEAT supporters and let’s work together to get the best deal we can. Don’t wait until it is too late to be prepared. This fight has been brought to your door step – what are you going to do? Sign a Support Commitment form today!

Early information suggests that TransCanada’s buying spree across Nebraska is only at bargain basement prices. This appears to be the math.

TransCanada needs to cross about 250 miles of this state with its KeystoneXL Pipeline.

At 5,280 feet per mile, times 250 miles, the company expects to have 1,320,000 linear feet of pipeline across Nebraska.

Recently, the company appears to be offering about $16.00 per linear foot (and prices goes up all the time). At this rate to purchase its temporary construction easements, and its permanent pipeline easements, the company would spend $21,120,000.00 to cross Nebraska.

Now, $21,120,000.00 is a lot of money. But, in a project slated to cost $7,500,000,000 billion dollars to build, can anyone really believe this is the company’s final position to Nebraska landowners?

Let's also roughly estimate how much TransCanada would make in one day if their pipeline is approved. The estimate is they will pump 900,000 barrels of tarsands a day thru their pipeline. That is 37,800,000 gallons per day. Oil is trading at $82.18 per barrel. So, again rough estimates, TransCanada could make tens of millions per day.

Imagine the amounts spent by TransCanada to:

• Lobby the United States Congress so much that TransCanada got its pipeline into a bill passed by the house of representatives.

• Lobby the State Department, and the President, for a presidential permit.

• Feed the political machine with contributions to office holders and office seekers just at the federal level to get the company’s way.

• Lobby the Legislatures and County Boards of: Alberta; Saskatchewan; Montana; North Dakota; South Dakota; Nebraska (including a special session); Kansas;Oklahoma; Texas

• Run ads in papers, tv and radio

What did it take to persuade the governors in most of the states along the route to want to try to facilitate TransCanada’s construction, instead of protect their own people?

What did a special legislative session of the Nebraska Legislature cost TransCanada? 

What did they have to spend to get the special session redone with a last minute amendment (LB 1161) that appears to have duped the Legislature and is now being challenged in court?

It is unimaginable that TransCanada’s investment in real estate interests in the acquisition of easements across Nebraska, could command so little money by comparison to the enormous expenditures to the company in other areas of the pipeline project.