Eminent domain fight looms for pipeline
“Bruce Baxter, who has owned a Bainbridge tree farm since 1985, received a letter from a lawyer from the Constitution Pipeline company last week, informing him the firm has “an immediate need” for a right-of-way to his property.
If he didn’t cooperate, the letter stated, the company was poised to seek “injunctive relief.”
“I’m fighting this all the way,” Baxter said, noting he was threatened with arrest last week after trying to stop a survey crew from taking samples on a disputed strip of land off state Route 206. “This is about a billion-dollar corporation against the little guy. I happen to think the environment is worth fighting for.”
After months of objections from landowners, the Constitution Pipeline company got more direct last week, when its lawyer Elizabeth Witmer warned of court action if property holders did not accept “this final offer” within 10 days.
In a tart response, Pace Environmental law Clinic lawyers, representing Stop the Pipeline, argued the letter amounted to an attempt to “bully” owners into signing easements.
“While we expect such unconscionable tactics from shady bill collectors, we do not expect them from a prestigious law firm,” wrote Anne Marie Garti and Daniel Estrin. They demanded Witmer’s letter be retracted.”
Mahoney, Joe. The Daily Star 10 December 2014.