Trespassing on Private Property is Illegal

Bills to let surveyors on private land without permission shall not pass

>> From the Editorial, Morgantown Dominion Post, Opinion Page, February 27, 2017

Honestly, we expected better from lawmakers who introduced these bills.  But, since “doublespeak” is the rage and still fools many, why not?

We refer to two measures in the Legislature to provide gas companies access to land without the property owners’ permission.  Last fall, the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that barred a pipeline project’s surveyors from private land.

In West Virginia, state law required companies to demonstrate a public use to justify allowing surveyors to enter private property without an owner’s permission. The judge ruled that the pipeline company failed to establish sufficient public use and issued an injunction barring surveyors from the property.

In November, the state Supreme Court affirmed that lower court’s decision that surveyors for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) had no right to enter the property without permission.

“MVP has been unable to identify even a single West Virginia consumer, or a West Virginia natural gas producer who is not affiliated with MVP, who will derive a benefit from MVP’s pipeline,” the ruling stated.

As a result, the company could not rely on a state law that could have vested MVP with the power of eminent domain to survey the couple’s property without consent.

Now, rather than attempt to take the high ground and rewrite our state’s eminent domain laws, certain legislators took the low road. Both SB 245 and HB 2688 require companies to send the owner 15 days notice of their intent to survey a property owner’s land.

However, the bill makes no provision for the owner’s receipt of the certified mail, only that notice is sent.  If the owner fails to reject this request within that 15 day period the surveyors can enter the property without permission.

As one of our readers recently put it, “In other words, they have the right to come onto your property unless you tell them to stay off. Why not just let them borrow your truck or raid your freezer unless you tell them no, too?  When companies obscure, disguise, distort or reverse the spirit or letter of our laws to serve their interest, we say, Hell no.”

Trying to legitimize trespassing does not make this truth easier to swallow.

We urge voters to take note of the legislators who support these bills. Because, in the coming weeks, you can expect even worse from them.

>>> West Virginia Code – §61-3B-3. — Trespass on property other than structure or conveyance.

See also:  Appalachian Mountain Advocates

Survey markers (Photo by Bill Hughes)

Push for Pipelines – Part 4

From an Article by Bill Hughes, Hoots & Hollers Blog (OVEC), January 28, 2016

Below is Push for Pipelines – Part 4. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

What Happened and How

I think it is safe to say that, in light of my well-known activism in documenting all things Marcellus, I am not your average Wetzel County surface owner. I have more than 10,000 photos of Marcellus operations here in Wetzel and I document every aspect of these operations, frequently contacting many state agencies and many of the gas operators directly. I knew which gas company was responsible. If this was intentional, both EQT and I would have a problem. If this was some kind of mistake, then only EQT would have a problem. But I could not fathom how this happened.

Fortunately I knew exactly who to contact at EQT in Pittsburgh.

And to their credit, the person I contacted at EQT immediately responded. It took most of the day to track down what had happen and I was told that the next day they would be out to remove the stakes and pins. The short story was that it was all a simple mistake. But a 4,300 foot long mistake. But still just a mistake. The long story follows.

The EQT representative assured me that someone would be out to remove their stakes, flags and the steel pins. I told them that they needed to be prompt and that I would not alter or move their property, and their locating points. The next day, when I got home the stakes with flags were gone, and just a small bare patch of dirt remained near my white plastic fence post marker still stood. It looked good. However, since I am a well-cultivated skeptic of long duration and also a strict adherent to the old Russian proverb, made famous by President Reagan, “Trust but Verify.” I grabbed the garden trowel shown below, dug around a bit, and clink, clink, steel on steel. Guess what. The cosmetic improvement proved rather shallow, literally. The steel pin had just be driven deeper, to look good. Just waiting for my tiller to locate someday. I profusely re-painted the pin, and photographed it and proceeded to send another somewhat harsh and very clearly worded e-mail to EQT. The pin was removed the next day.

After all the stakes, ribbons, and steel pins were removed, EQT provided further insights into the bigger picture. Multiple pipeline routes were being evaluated by EQT. Gas companies always consider a wide range of constraints to pipeline construction such as road and stream crossings, available access roads, permission and cooperation of the many landowners, steepness of the terrain, etc. At a certain point in their evaluation, EQT chose a final route, but for unknown reasons the surveyor crew was given the old, now-abandoned route on which to establish a control point. The overall error can be seen on the map below, where the bright blue line is the original path of the OVC pipeline through my property, and the red line shows where the pipeline would go, if FERC approves it. A new control point has now been established near the highway where the pipeline would cross, if approved.

NOTE: See also Appalachian Mountain Advocates for more information on natural gas pipelines in Appalachia.