McKenzie County Farmer - Latest News

By M.K. French
Farmer Staff Writer

In the heart of McKenzie County, where families have been firmly planted alongside their crops for generations, pipeline titan Tesoro has cast a new shadow over the land in the form of eminent domain. The use of this statutory power by energy companies in the acquisition of private land is increasing, sending ripples of concern through North Dakota’s agricultural community - and some landowners are pushing back. “The implications are downright frightening and should scare every North Dakota landowner,” says attorney Joshua Swanson, who represents the Schaff Green family. “If Tesoro succeeds, there is nothing to stop them from using strong-armed, bullying tactics….[to take] property via eminent domain. That should scare the hell out of every farmer and rancher in North Dakota.”

Swanson’s declaration portends a fierce battle to be waged right here in McKenzie County beginning June 4. Pipeline giant Tesoro High Plains Pipeline Company LLC has initiated an eminent domain lawsuit to acquire private land from Schaff Green Family Farmland LLLP, a family that has leased property to the company for three decades. The case spotlights the increasingly contentious issue of land acquisition by energy companies and raises questions about negotiation tactics versus the power of eminent domain. Swanson has made it clear that the Schaff Green family will come out swinging against what he calls an “‘overzealous’ and ‘unreasonable’ application” of the statute: “they refuse to be bullied, and will fight with every stone in their sling to protect land that has been in their family for generations.”

The dispute centers on two tracts of land adjacent to Tesoro’s High Plains Pipeline, a 700-mile common carrier pipeline operating in North Dakota and Montana. According to court documents, Tesoro had been leasing the properties from Schaff Green since 1994, with agreements renewed every ten years. However, when the latest leases expired in April 2024, Schaff Green declined to agree to what they considered less favorable terms for a new lease.

Court documents reveal that negotiations for lease renewals began in late 2023 and continued into early 2024. Schaff Green initially proposed a $10,000 per lease annual payment for a ten-year term with an upfront payment. Tesoro countered with a longer 25-year term without increased payments and annual installments. Negotiations stalled, and the previous leases expired.
In response, Tesoro filed a condemnation complaint in McKenzie County District Court in June 2024, seeking to acquire the land outright through eminent domain. Eminent domain is the right of the government or a party acting under governmental authority to take private property for public use, even if the owner does not wish to sell. Joshua Swanson, the attorney representing Schaff Green, explained that the case is significant because it appears to signal a shift in tactics by pipeline companies like Tesoro. According to Swanson, an ever-increasing number of energy companies are resorting to the drastic measure of eminent domain to permanently take private property, rather than continuing in lease negotiations.

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