Real Estate & Property Law

Lancaster Farming Hogwash

By Alan Ackerman

    One should read the Lancaster Farming article published last week.  The article must have been written by a P.R. firm for the local correspondent.  
    The article makes it sound like things are so easy.  If one reads the article they will find that there is a claim that FERC  controls all pipelines in the interstate system.  No mention is made that many of the pipelines constructed are intrastate rather than interstate.
    The article goes on to state that there is a simple 25 additional feet being taken for right-of-way and 100 feet for workspace.  The implication is that the workspace will be returned and the property reseeded.  No mention is made that that extra 100 feet of workspace can be reopened at any time in the future unless severe limits are placed in the easement agreement.  Since these will likely be written by the utility, we can safely assume that if a pipeline ever needs any work, the 100 feet will be used.
    Finally, the implication that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will control safety of pipelines throughout Pennsylvania does not apply.
    Kudos should be given to the public relations firm that wrote this article for the Lancaster Farming newspaper.

Lancastar Farming

The new pipeline that would be installed can, in most circumstances, be contained within the current pipeline right of way. However, the company is seeking an additional 25 feet of right of way for the pipeline plus 100 feet of work space.

Pipeline representatives are actively seeking permission from landowners for the additional right of way, and are carefully following all state and federal guidelines, according to Hannarich.

This work space right of way is temporary and will revert back to the land owner when the project is complete, he said.

The right of way, on the other hand, will extend to the life of the pipeline, making the easement 75 feet wide.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on September 23, 2010 (boomark / email).