Our Story
Our Story: They Took the Shade
A Disabled Veteran's Fight Against Corporate Eminent Domain
My name is Anthony Voss. I'm a disabled U.S. Navy veteran living in Whitehouse, Texas, with my wife Pamela. We bought our geodesic dome home in the East Texas forest for one simple reason: the dense canopy of 120-foot-tall pines gave me the shade I desperately needed.
I suffer from severe migraines and photophobia — extreme light sensitivity caused by my service injuries. Bright sunlight feels like knives behind my eyes. In the forest, the perpetual gentle dusk let me step outside without pain. It was more than a home. It was my sanctuary.
In August 2021, everything changed. Atmos Energy sent a letter: they planned to run a high-pressure natural gas pipeline straight through our property.
What We Asked For — What They Took
We didn't fight the pipeline on principle. I worked in the oil and gas industry. I understand infrastructure. All we asked was this:
- Bore the pipeline underground (they eventually did — 50 to 90 feet deep).
- Leave our trees standing — they had zero engineering impact on a bore at that depth.
- Use our existing driveway for access (saving them an estimated $2 million in new road construction).
We provided my full medical records to Atmos in June 2021, before we even closed on the property. We warned them about windthrow risks, erosion, and the medical harm tree removal would cause. We offered reasonable compromises for years.
None of it mattered.
In September 2024, despite our objections and a pending legal fight, Atmos showed up with chainsaws. They took 144 mature trees in one morning — creating a 75-foot-wide scar through our front yard. They used our driveway anyway. They left a wind tunnel that has already caused 28 more trees to fall in mild storms. Fifteen of the remaining giants now stand just 12 feet from our home.
Our sanctuary became a prison of dust, diesel fumes, constant light, and safety fears.
The "LiDAR Lie" and the Real Reason
Atmos claimed they needed to clear the trees for LiDAR aerial inspections to detect leaks. That's false.
LiDAR is designed to penetrate tree canopies — that's its main purpose in pipeline and forestry work. Natural gas rises and disperses; it doesn't hide under trees. The pipeline sits 50–90 feet underground — far beyond any aerial detection. The clearing created a construction road for heavy equipment, not an inspection corridor.
They bored the line. Then they took the trees anyway. Why? It was cheaper and faster for them.
The Human Cost
Pamela had part of a lung removed after a near-fatal illness. She breathed construction dust and fumes for months while Atmos watered the road only once in a year. My migraines worsened without the canopy. Skylights in our dome now blast direct sunlight inside. The visible industrial facility sits 180 feet from our home. The pipeline crosses under a creek in shifting sandy soil — ground conditions linked to pipeline stress and failure. A major leak or rupture could be catastrophic. We lived in a construction zone for six months. Trespasses. Noise. Vibration. Helplessness.
The Courtroom Betrayal
We took them to trial. The judge initially ruled five times that we could present evidence of the trees' intrinsic value to me — their personal, medical necessity. Then, after a lunch break during trial, the judge reversed course. Intrinsic value evidence was suddenly excluded. The jury never heard the full story: my medical needs, the debris in Pamela's compromised lungs, the windthrow dangers, or the uncompensated use of our driveway. They awarded us just $69,000. We owe our lawyers over $100,000. Atmos spent far more fighting us. A certified arborist valued the removed trees at $540,000 (replacement cost). A real estate expert documented $188,000+ in home value loss. Safety remediation (tree removal, retaining wall, erosion control) will cost another $186,000+. None of that was fully compensated.
This Is Bigger Than Our Trees
This is eminent domain abuse. In Texas, pipeline companies like Atmos wield government power to take private land for what they claim is "public use." But much of the gas from the Carthage hub this line feeds goes to LNG export terminals in Louisiana — private profit shipped overseas, not Texas homes. Post-Kelo v. City of New London, corporations and their political influence have stretched "public use" beyond recognition. Landowners pay taxes on land they no longer fully control. Medical needs are ignored. "Fair market value" doesn't reflect real harm. Elected judges in energy country face obvious conflicts. We offered a win-win solution. Atmos chose war.
Where We Stand Now...
The trees are gone. The pipeline is in. The scar remains. But we are still here — fighting the appeal and refusing to stay silent. Silence is how corporations win. We are done being quiet.
They took the shade. They will not take our voice.
