Fort Worth Star-Telegram city hall reporter Mike Lee exposes an interesting byproduct of the Barnett Shale natural gas boom that's seen drilling operations literally going though and under congested metropolitan areas in and around Tarrant County. The latest wrinkle has production companies creating spinoff pipeline operations, which are able to obtain the same kind of eminent domain powers typically reserved for municipalities and public utilities. Armed with these powers, Lee describes how multiple gas companies are installing their own competing pipelines though Tarrant County, acquiring property by condemnation along the way. It may seem counterintuitive that a private company can have the same powers as a public utility, but Dallas attorney Charles Fiscus, who focuses on real estate and eminent domain issues at Shackelford Melton & McKinley, tells Lee that such a pipeline can serve just one company and still be considered a utility, much like trucking companies that lease all their trucks to just one customer are still considered "common carriers" in the government's eyes.