INDIANAPOLIS—An interstate company reached an agreement Tuesday with some landowners it had sued to gain access to their property for a natural gas pipeline project.
Rockies Express LLC had been seeking a federal judge’s permission to access the central Indiana land to conduct surveys for part of the 638-mile final leg of a more than 1,600-mile pipeline stretching from Colorado to Ohio.
Several landowners had refused access to their properties, but Rockies Express sued last month to gain immediate use of their land. Its lawsuit sought temporary restraining orders to allow the survey work for the project, which will traverse nine Indiana counties.
Some landowners and the company reached an agreement before Tuesday’s hearing on the restraining orders.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young has ruled the company has the right to access the properties and that the project could be irreparably harmed by a substantial delay.
He granted restraining orders against seven property owners who failed to appear for the hearing.
But requests for the orders were dropped against those landowners who reached a deal with the company. The agreement includes Rockies Express giving 48 hours notice before working on people’s property.
Rockies Express had contended that the federal Natural Gas Act and Indiana’s eminent domain law allow it to access the property to conduct civil, archaeological and environmental surveys and to acquire rights-of-way easements.
In the coming months, Rockies Express will be seeking final approval for REX-East line from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It wants to start construction in the summer or fall with an in-service target date of July 2009.
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Information from: The Indianapolis Star,
