§723. Expropriation authority

            A. Subject to the provisions of R.S. 19:8, coal or lignite slurry pipeline owners or operators otherwise licensed and permitted to operate in Louisiana by order of the assistant secretary shall possess the right of expropriation with authority to expropriate private property under the general state expropriation laws, and shall have the right to lay, maintain, and operate pipelines, together with telegraph and telephone lines necessary and incidental to the operation of these pipelines, over private property thus expropriated, and have the further right to lay, maintain, and operate pipelines along, across, over and under any navigable stream or public highway, street, bridge, or other public place, and also have the authority, under the right of expropriation herein conferred, to cross railroads, street railways, and other pipelines, by expropriating property necessary for the crossing under the general expropriation laws of this state. The right to run along, across, over, or under any public road, bridge or highway, as before provided for, may be exercised only upon condition that the traffic thereon is not interfered with, and that such road or highway is promptly restored to its former condition of usefulness, at the expense of the pipeline owner, the restoration to be subject also to the supervision and approval of the proper local authorities.

            B. In the exercise of the privilege herein conferred, owners or operators of such pipelines shall compensate the state, parish, municipality, or road district, respectively, for any damage done to such public road, in the laying of pipelines, telegraph, or telephone lines, along, under, over, or across the same. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to grant any transporter the right to use any public street or alley of any parish, incorporated city, town, or village, except by express permission from the parish, city or other governing authority.

            C. With respect to private property, a servitude acquired by the use of eminent domain shall be limited to an area not to exceed during construction whatever space is engineeringly necessary for the construction of the pipeline in question; however in no event shall said working space width exceed one hundred fifty feet except where extra space is required for road crossings, stream crossings, canal crossings, pipeline crossings or the like, and the permanent right of way area after construction is completed shall be fifteen feet in width, being seven and one-half feet on each side of a center line, with right of ingress and egress to, from and along such permanent right of way area. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to grant to any transporter the right to expropriate any property, or any interest therein, for use as a pit for the discharge of coal or lignite slurry or for use as a pumping station.

            D. In expropriation proceedings commenced pursuant to the authority herein conferred, the issue of public purpose and necessity for the proposed taking shall be a judicial question pursuant to Section 4 of Article I of the constitution of Louisiana.

            E. In the event property is acquired for coal or lignite slurry pipeline construction through the use of eminent domain and subsequent thereto the party acquiring said rights fails to construct the pipeline due to inability to obtain the required state and/or federal permits for construction, then in that event said party shall have no right to the return of the funds paid to the landowner for the rights acquired, and said party shall have no right to use any such property acquired for any other purpose than that stated by the judgment of acquisition.

            F. Nothing in this Part or under the general expropriation laws of this state shall be construed as permitting the expropriation of water or water rights for use in transportation of coal by pipeline. No Louisiana water from any source shall be used in connection with the transportation, maintenance or operation of a coal slurry pipeline within the state, except water used for drinking, toilet, bath, or other personal uses, unless the assistant secretary shall have determined, after public hearing, that such use will not be detrimental to the water supply of the area from which the water is sought to be extracted. In that event, nothing in this Part shall authorize expropriation of water or water rights.

            In the event the assistant secretary shall have authorized use of water as provided herein, he shall annually thereafter, and so long as such use continues, review the use of such water in order to determine if such continued use will be detrimental to the water supply of the area from which the water is being extracted. Further, if the local governing body of the parish from which the water is being extracted shall make a formal motion to the assistant secretary suggesting that continued use of such water will be detrimental to the water supply of the area from which the water is being extracted, then in that event the assistant secretary shall immediately call a public hearing to determine whether such continued use will be detrimental to the water supply of such area.

            G. Water used in the transportation of coal by pipeline to any point in Louisiana shall conform to regulations of the Stream Control Commission and the Department of Energy and Natural Resources prior to its discharge into rivers or streams or holding pits from which seepage can occur.

            H. In the event the price for product or services is not regulated by a state or federal agency charged with that responsibility then when the owner or owners of any pipeline constructed pursuant to this act and deemed interstate in character shall enter into a contract to provide its product or service to any person, firm or corporation in the state of Louisiana, such contract shall provide for rates and charges for such product or service that are nondiscriminatory and offer no preference insofar as the said rates and charges for such product or service are determined and charged any other users of its product or service in any other state. The assistant secretary shall promulgate regulations to implement and enforce the provisions of this Subsection.

            I. If, during construction, a coal or lignite slurry pipeline owner or operator or his employee, agent or contractor uses property of the landowner outside of the limits of the construction right of way expropriated from said landowner, the landowner shall be entitled to recover in civil action, damages from the coal or lignite slurry pipeline owner or operator in an amount not less than that determined by dividing the amount of the compensation awarded by the expropriation judgement by the number of square feet included in the property expropriated and multiplying that result by five times the number of square feet used by the coal or lignite slurry pipeline owner or operator outside of that portion of the property expropriated.

            Added by Acts 1977, No. 561, §1; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.