Pipeline Company Threatens Legal Action Against Survey Holdouts
“Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent out letters threatening legal action against property owners who refused access to their land for surveying. Groups opposed to the pipeline believe there is no basis for legal action. The issue appears far from black and white.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, or MVP, is a proposed 42-inch diameter, 330-mile line that would connect hydraulic fracturing operations in West Virginia to a transmission pipeline in Virginia. EQT and NextEra Energy are partnering on the project.
Elise Keaton is with the Greenbrier River Watershed Association, which is opposed to the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s construction. The association held a meeting on Feb. 28 in Ireland, Lewis County, to discuss the pipeline’s impact. About 70 people gathered at the town’s shamrock-themed community center. After the meeting, Keaton said her organization had received calls the previous day from landowners in four counties who had been mailed letters from the pipeline company.
“So what we saw with these letters is a misinterpretation of the facts in our opinion.”
Keaton believes the crux of the issue is West Virginia’s eminent domain law and whether it can be applied during the surveying stage of the pipeline’s development.
“The letters imply that under West Virginia state code section 54-1-1, which is West Virginia’s eminent domain statute, that the gas companies have a right to come on and survey. As we read the statute, that doesn’t come into play until eminent domain is granted.””
Wright, Jesse. West Virginia Public Broadcasting 8 March 2015.