Judge OKs eminent domain for pipeline
“The proposed Constitution Pipeline project has taken a major advance forward, with a federal judge granting it eminent domain rights to easements on properties whose owners had been resisting right-of-way agreements.
Pipeline construction is now expected to begin this summer, said Christopher Stockton, a spokesman for Williams Partners, the energy company that is the lead partner in the consortium of firms behind the $700 million project, which would run 124 miles from northeastern Pennsylvania to the Schoharie County town of Wright.
“We appreciate the action of the court in affirming well-established case law granting parties, such as Constitution, the right of possession, which is critical for us to move the project forward so that we can meet the conditions necessary to begin pipeline construction,” Stockton said.
Stockton noted that the court order does not give the company ownership of the lots in question.
“We are executing an easement agreement which gives us the right to survey and then install and operate the pipe,” he said. “The landowner still retains ownership of the property and can still use it for farming and other activities with some restrictions. We will also pay the landowner the fair value of the easement that we obtain.”
Stop the Pipeline activists, however, said their battle is far from over, pointing out Constitution Pipeline has yet to clear a key hurdle — obtaining a 401 water quality certificate from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.”
Mahoney, Joe. The Daily Star 25 February 2015.