Federal District Court Denies Request To Use Eminent Domain Authority To Relocate Interstate Gas Pipeline
On October 24, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania denied Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC’s (Columbia) request to use the eminent domain authority provided in the Natural Gas Act to acquire new pipeline easements from certain landowners in York County, Pennsylvania. Columbia filed the request to facilitate its efforts to replace and relocate portions of an existing gas pipeline in order to comply with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s integrity management program requirements in Subpart O of 49 C.F.R. Part 192. Although the company’s efforts obtain the necessary easements through private negotiation had proved unsuccessful, the Court concluded that Columbia had not shown that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s regulations for performing activities under a blanket certificate would allow the easements to be acquired through the use of eminent domain.