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Monday, July 16, 2007
Ind. Law - NIPSCO claims of 25 foot pipeline easement upsets residents
Karen Snelling of the Gary Post-Tribune reported this morning, dateline Hobart:
Lawrence Campana and his neighbors along Tanager Street are upset because the utility is threatening to sue them over their backyard fences.The fences, according to Northern Indiana Public Service Co., encroach on the easement of a natural gas transmission pipeline located between their houses and a pond. * * *
Neither Campana nor the city knew about the high pressure pipeline until May, when NIPSCO sent out letters saying all of the fences had to be removed by Aug. 1.
The fences, according to the letter, interfere with NIPSCO's ability to inspect and maintain the pipeline.
"We're required by federal law to maintain the integrity of the easement and pipeline," NIPSCO spokesman Tom Cuddy said. The pipeline carries large volumes of natural gas over long distances.
"Why did it take NIPSCO so long to contact us if the fences were a problem," asked Ralph Wood, who had a white, vinyl fence installed last year. Neighbors have had their fences up for as long as seven years.
Cuddy would not comment on the time it took NIPSCO to notify property owners of the restriction.
"We did everything right," frustrated homeowner Thomas Robinson said of the fence he had installed in 2005.
"NIPSCO says call before you dig. Well, we did and they came out and marked the utility lines. And now the fences have to be taken down.
"Somebody -- NIPSCO, the city or the developer -- didn't do their job," Robinson, a retired Hammond firefighter, said.
An easement agreement NIPSCO filed with the county in 1955 prohibits any structures from being placed on the 25-foot pipeline easement.
But Hobart officials say they did not know about the restriction.
"The pipeline was not on any plat of survey and it was not marked until 10 days ago. And NIPSCO never told me or the Plan Commission about the easement agreement until this summer," Hobart Building Commissioner Carroll Lewis said.
Consequently, he said, the city routinely issued fence permits in the subdivision.
City codes allow fences to be installed on utility easements. The permit explains that the fences can be knocked down for an emergency and the homeowner would have to bear the cost of replacing them.
NIPSCO insists the fence restriction is mandated by federal regulation.
But Damon Hill, spokesman for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is not familiar with that rule.
"We make the regulations for pipeline operators to maintain the integrity of pipelines," Hill said.
"We don't control land usage on pipeline rights of way. That's up to state and local officials," he said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 16, 2007 02:43 PM
Posted to Indiana Law