Mustang Express Pipeline Survey Access – What Texas Landowners Need To Know

Texas landowner rights attorney Phil Hundl with the law firm Land Rights Law, PLLC,  shares an update on the Mustang Express Pipeline. Texas landowners are being served temporary restraining orders (TROs) related to the Mustang Pipeline project, allowing the pipeline company to enter their land for survey access.

Hi, Phil Hundl here with Land Rights Law, bringing you a project update. The topic and timing of this update is frustrating for affected landowners.  We are in the middle of the Christmas season, so first—Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone.

We have been contacted by multiple landowners affected by the Mustang Pipeline project who are being served with temporary restraining orders (TROs) so that the pipeline company can conduct surveys on their property.

The Mustang Pipeline project is being developed by ARM Energy by and through Mustang Express Pipeline, LLC, and has gone to court and sought access to landowners’ property through legal action.

In these situations, the pipeline company files an application and obtains an order ex parte, meaning the request is made without the landowner present. The court usually issues atemporary restraining order, which allows the pipeline company to enter the property for survey access.

Once the TRO is issued, the landowner is legally restrained from keeping the company off their property for survey purposes.

A temporary restraining order does not last indefinitely. Typically, within 14 days—sometimes longer if extended—the court will schedule a temporary injunction hearing.

At that hearing, the judge will determine whether the pipeline company should continue to have permission to enter the property to conduct surveys.

Those who have worked with me before know that, in many situations, we are able to work out very limited temporary access agreements with pipeline companies. These agreements allow the company to conduct only the preliminary surveying necessary to determine whether the pipeline route will ultimately cross the property.

This type of limited access is preferable to broad or undefined entry rights. Survey access should be restricted to what is actually needed and should not exceed that scope.

By this point in the process, most landowners have been contacted multiple times by a right-of-way agent. Often, those agents ask for verbal permission to enter the property.

The problem is that verbal permission can be misunderstood or later interpreted as much broader access than the landowner intended. For everyone’s sake—the pipeline company, the right-of-way agent, and the landowner—it is far better to have clear, written access terms.

Access agreements should:

• Be in writing
• Clearly define the purpose of entry
• Limit access to only what is necessary for the survey

Once a preliminary survey is completed, landowners should receive updated plats or route information. At that point, if there are route adjustments the landowner wishes to request, those should be raised as early as possible.

If You’ve Been Served, Pay Attention to the Legal Process

If you have received or been served with a petition/ temporary restraining order by Mustang Pipeline, at this early stage they are seeking temporary access through a TRO and may ask the court to extend that access through a temporary injunction.

This is not something to ignore, and it is important to understand what rights you have and Mustang’s obligations at this stage and later stages in the condemnation process.

For more detailed information about survey access, temporary restraining orders, and temporary injunctions, you can visit our educational blog at TxCondemnationRights.com, where we break these topics down in plain language for Texas landowners.

Key Takeaways for Landowners

• Landowners often can negotiate limited access, focused only on preliminary surveys, rather than broad entry rights.
• A temporary restraining order is a short-term court order that temporarily prevents a landowner from blocking survey access until the court can review the issue at a later hearing.
• Verbal permission can be risky—survey access should always be clearly defined and in writing.

If your property is affected by the Mustang Express Pipeline or any similar project, explore our educational resources at TxCondemnationRights.com to better understand survey access, court orders, and landowner rights in Texas.

Related Links

• Temporary Restraining Orders and Temporary Injunctions
• Mustang Express Pipeline website