When pipelines (oil companies) misbehave.
The offending company should immediately cut a check to EVERYONE in a 5 mile radius of their "oopsie"..
The check should be for the HIGHEST 2 yr PRE-OIL OOPS value of the home.
The check should also include the moving expense/closing costs/deposits for their NEW abode.
The local/state government should get a FIVE YEAR equivalent of ALL the property taxes that location would have paid..
The location should be immediately cleaned up and the area razed & turned into a park..
Those properties are worth a LOT less now, and who in their right mind would want to live there again anytime soon.
Any litigation regarding "blame" could be done later.
One thing is certain.. The residents had NOTHING to do with it, and they need to be be compensated automatically..
If oil companies had to pay up front and in full..and prepay future lost tax revenues, they may start paying closer attention to their rickety old pipelines..