The fight between a group of Oklahoma landowners and the Midship Pipeline continued Thursday in a Canadian County courtroom, though the legal battle is primarily between Midship and Central Land Consulting LLC (CLC), the firm helping the farmers.
CLC is working on behalf of landowners along the Midship route, documenting buried construction debris and pushing for restoration. Midship is suing the firm, claiming its work creates safety risks. More than a dozen farmers attended the hearing, saying they continue to uncover debris left behind during the installation of a 200-mile natural gas line over five years ago.
“This is another roadblock, that’s all it is, to slow us down,” said Terry Luber, a Kingfisher County farmer. “Every time I work my ground, I find more debris. The evidence is just getting exponential. You can almost throw a coin down on the ground and dig there, and you’re going to find something on my property.”
The debris they’ve found includes large wood mats and rocks. Nate Laps, CLC’s president of operations, said all work is approved by Midship inspectors and is intended to gather evidence.
“I always have the Midship operations and inspectors approve locations where I want to dig out,” Laps said. “I follow the right procedures. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with collecting more evidence that could cost them a lot of money.”
Midship, however, wants the work to stop and is hoping for a judge to rule in its favor. In a statement, Midship said “We have been forced to take legal action against Nate Laps and his company CLC, as he continues to cause significant safety concerns by digging on our pipeline right-of-way. Midship is steadfast in prioritizing public safety, and we hope the Canadian County court will stop CLC from causing further safety and environmental risks.”
But Luber just wants his land restored and calls the lawsuit “frivolous.”
“They just threw in another monkey wrench in it,” Luber said. “They didn’t have any evidence. It was nothing to it. And I firmly believe the judge will rule in our favor.”
No ruling was made Thursday, and both sides will submit briefs before a final decision.
Federal regulators previously ordered Midship to develop a remediation plan, which the company says it has complied with.
