Texas Landowner: Judge Delays TransCanada Hearing

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas landowner battling TransCanada Corp. says a judge has declined for now to hear arguments on whether to temporarily stop work on the property. Michael Bishop says a Nacogdoches County judge put off a hearing scheduled for Wednesday until he can determine whether the matter should be in state court. Bishop wants work on his property to cease until the judge rules on whether the product TransCanada plans to carry through it is crude oil.

TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline is meant to transport tar sands, or diluted bitumen, from Canada to Texas. Bishop says tar sand isn’t crude oil. The section of the pipeline that would cross the international border has not been approved. A shorter portion from Oklahoma to Texas is under construction. The route carries it through eastern Smith County.