Vt. Gas pledges to halt eminent domain use (for now)
“After receiving a request from Gov. Shumlin to do so, Vermont Gas Systems says it will hold off on filing eminent domain proceedings against landowners along the Phase I route of its pipeline. known as the Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project. The company also committed to halting negotiations with landowners who wish to stop talking until a new set of guidelines is established for relations between Vermont Gas and landowners.
The governor’s request, which was made in the form of a letter from his chief of staff, Liz Miller, to Vermont Gas Vice President Jim Sinclair, stemmed from a Nov. 13 meeting he held with a group of landowners from Chittenden and Addison counties.
The landowners, who live along Phase I and II of the pipeline route, requested two things of Vermont Gas: to halt easement talks until a new set of negotiating “ground rules” are agreed upon, and to create a legal fund to help landowners hire attorneys to negotiate complex easement agreements.”
Despart, Zach. Addison Independent 4 December 2014.