Property owners in the path of the Williams Company Atlantic Sunrise pipeline are now subject to condemnation court filings. The litigation requests approval of the taking of property rights by eminent domain and quick possession of those rights. Property owners may have weak challenges to the condemnations, but continue with rights to just compensation. Williams Company appraisals have valued incorrect property rights to facilitate negotiation of minimal settlements. Owners are encouraged to contact experienced eminent domain counsel to obtain just compensation.
Access sought to 13 properties
A Texas gas pipeline company is seeking a preliminary injunction to obtain immediate possession of rights of way over 13 properties in four counties for the Atlantic Sunrise project.
The motion filed Wednesday in U.S. Middle District Court by Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Co. seeks access to four properties in Lebanon County, five in Columbia County, three in Northumberland and one in Schuylkill.
The 13 are among the 16 central Pennsylvania properties over which Transco seeks to obtain rights of way through condemnation.
Atlantic Sunrise is a $3 billion project that will increase the capacity to transport natural gas from the Marcellus Shale region to markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
It includes about 200 miles of new pipelines, some of which would pass through midstate, plus new compressor, meter and regulator stations in Pennsylvania.
Minor modifications to compressor stations and other work in Virginia, Maryland and North and South Carolina are part of the project recently approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Transco says it needs access to the properties by March 20 to do field surveys that are part of the pre-construction process. The lack of access could delay start of construction a full year, it says.
Written by: John Beauge | PennLive
