Study abroad: IRWA education conference draws members from around the world Jul 18, 2013

The International Right of Way Association (IRWA) has been living up to its name as membership booms outside the U.S. and Canada. Nowhere was this more evident than at the IRWA’s 59th Annual International Education Conference, which attracted contingents to West Virginia from as far as Japan, South Africa, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, China, and Mexico.

The IRWA has no counterpart elsewhere in the world, and as many countries move to improve their private and public infrastructure, they’re drawing on the IRWA’s established best practices and ethics guidance. At the same time, the new members are bringing further vibrancy and enthusiasm to the IRWA, and sharing their own knowledge and challenges based on their local right of way cases.

In addition to discussing pressing U.S. infrastructure concerns such as oil and gas, water, and transportation, this year’s IRWA conference introduced the right of way issues and practices of a number of countries, such as Mexico’s social land challenge.

3 major trends in U.S. infrastructure

Some of the conference’s most common conversations about U.S. infrastructure concerned energy, water, and transportation. Energy infrastructure is expanding and shifting as new opportunities arise. North Dakota is capitalizing on its oil and gas boom – the technology is so good that they’re hitting gas every time they drill – and Texas is relocating rigs to focus on oil and liquid natural gas, which have been commanding higher prices than natural gas.

The need for water improvements was also top of mind at the conference – especially after U.S. water infrastructure earned a D from the American Society of Civil Engineers. New infrastructure is needed, especially in Texas, which is still in a drought.

Finally, transportation projects earned attention as an economic indicator. Many of these projects had been delayed because of the recession, but are now starting back up again. The expansion we’re seeing on transportation projects might signal that the tail end of the recession is finally receding.

Mexico’s right of way dilemma

While these projects heat up in the U.S., our Mexican contingent shared some of their unique right of way challenges. For example, more than half of Mexico’s land is what is called “social land.” The closest equivalent of this in the U.S. would be Native American reservations. This social land creates a number of interesting situations since these lands have their own laws, procedures, and dynamic, and have been in effect since the Aztecs’ reign.

A recent example of development stemming from the use of social land is the proposed Mexico City Airport development. In October 2001, the President of Mexico issued a decree to expropriate 11,000 acres and develop a new $3 billion airport intended to replace the existing one.

The land was part of 13 ejidos, communal land that is to be used for diverse activities such as agriculture, cattle breeding, mining, timberland, touristic developments, etc. In the case of the airport, the social land was originally used for agriculture, but the area’s urbanization was generating use changes for housing developments. This circumstance was neglected by the expropriation decree and the appraisals conducted on the land were estimated considering only the agricultural use instead of the higher and best use implied by the new airport.

The affected population of the 13 ejidos rejected the proposed values and social tension in the area resulted in riots. In August 2002 the airport project was officially canceled, without the expropriation decree taking effect and the population of the involved ejidos formed a social organization that has become an important opposition group, now opposing most of the governmental development projects.

As our organization continues to grow, our truly international body will be able to keep all our professionals informed on the best practices, drawing on years of expertise that will help drive new infrastructure projects around the world.

Attendees are welcomed to the 2013 IRWA International Education Conference

Integra attendees pose in front of the IRR booth.

Author: Randy Williams