The Law is the Law: Theresa Red Terry
Theresa Red Terry and her adult daughter have lived on platforms thirty-two feet up in trees on their property for the past three weeks. They have faced rough late spring weather, and a rapidly diminishing food supply, in an attempt to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline from destroying their land on Bent Mountain in Roanoke County, Virginia. Virginia law enforcement waits at the base of the trees to make sure sympathizers don’t re-supply them. At night the base of the trees are lit up with spotlights. Their efforts have held off construction and caused the pipeline unwanted local and national publicity and embarrassment.
The most important asset the gas companies have in dealing with these situations is what I call the “This is America argument.” Most people who read about these cases may feel an emotional tug for Red and the Terry family but will assume the easements for the gas line were obtained through due process with all reasonable environmental considerations, and the affected landowners will be paid for their losses.
I’ve personally dealt with Eminent Domain quite a bit — Fox News called my property the most condemned in the country — and I’ve had neighbors tell me how lucky I was, assuming I’m going to be paid far more for the land than it could ever be worth. I saw the cost projections for the gas line going through my farm buried in piles of…
