Energy Institute at Haas

We analyze a historical episode to generate evidence on how federal eminent domain authority affected construction of energy transportation infrastructure. The 1947 amendment to the Natural Gas Act gave federally approved interstate natural gas pipelines the power to acquire rights of way by eminent domain when negotiations with landowners failed. We compare construction of interstate gas pipelines with construction of oil pipelines and of within-state gas pipelines, neither of which was directly affected by the reform, using newly digitized historical government records and trade press listings. After 1947, annual additions to interstate gas pipeline mileage rose nearly sixfold while oil pipeline growth held steady, and the gain in interstate mileage was nearly five times the gain for within-state pipelines. Both comparisons suggest that the amendment substantially increased interstate gas pipeline construction. We discuss what this historical evidence implies for current congressional proposals to provide federal eminent domain authority for interstate electricity transmission.