Natural Gas Easement Repairs in Ohio
There is a natural gas easement on my property which the gas company is coming to repair over the next 2.5 months. They gave me a 2 wk notice that they will be digging up a large portion of my backyard.
I have kids young and they now will have no where to play.
More importantly, they stated they would restore the property with seed, not sod. Which is what I paid for originally in my yard over $2000.
What rights do I have so they can replace the yard as they found it...
Not to mention I have kids, and the fact that in the summer they have no safe area to play, and if they only seed the expense of water and maintenance to restore the land to its original state.
PLEASE ADVISE...
Re: Natural Gas Easement Repairs in Ohio
You can go back and read the original easement grant but I would be surprised that it would make any provision for compensation for the temporary loss of your children's play area.
As for restoring the surface to it's existing condition, it would seem that they are offering to do that. You are most likely dealing with a perpetual utility easement and you will be held to the terms of it and the interpretation that Ohio courts have found over the years.
I can assure you that the gas company is not going to have your yard torn up for 2.5 months. 2.5 days would more typical, and unless you have a very large yard 2.5 hours might be closer.
Is the gas company a large operation such as Columbia Gas or are you dealing with a local county co-op?
Is it a major transmission line (say 6" or larger) or are we dealing with a 2 or 4" line?
Any more information you can give would help me advise you in a better way.
Re: Natural Gas Easement Repairs in Ohio
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LandSurveyor
You can go back and read the original easement grant but I would be surprised that it would make any provision for compensation for the temporary loss of your children's play area.
As for restoring the surface to it's existing condition, it would seem that they are offering to do that. You are most likely dealing with a perpetual utility easement and you will be held to the terms of it and the interpretation that Ohio courts have found over the years.
I can assure you that the gas company is not going to have your yard torn up for 2.5 months. 2.5 days would more typical, and unless you have a very large yard 2.5 hours might be closer.
Is the gas company a large operation such as Columbia Gas or are you dealing with a local county co-op?
Is it a major transmission line (say 6" or larger) or are we dealing with a 2 or 4" line?
Any more information you can give would help me advise you in a better way.
or maybe a 54" line?:eek:
Depending on the size and what is being done, 2.5 months may not be out of line.
If it is a smaller line such as you suggest, I would think 2 1/2 months to be extreme as well but...
Re: Natural Gas Easement Repairs in Ohio
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or maybe a 54" line?
Quite unlikely.
Having done over ninety projects for Columbia Gas of Ohio in the past four years, I would say that no one has a gas line this large running through their back yard. The OP can find out this information by simply asking the gas company, which is still unidentified.
Lines 36" and larger are major utility thoroughfares and now fall under the Department of Homeland Security which probably moves discussion out of this forum and into a whole new world :p
Re: Natural Gas Easement Repairs in Ohio
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LandSurveyor
Quite unlikely.
Having done over ninety projects for Columbia Gas of Ohio in the past four years, I would say that no one has a gas line this large running through their back yard. The OP can find out this information by simply asking the gas company, which is still unidentified.
Lines 36" and larger are major utility thoroughfares and now fall under the Department of Homeland Security which probably moves discussion out of this forum and into a whole new world :p
you mean my dads neighbor is now under the scrutiny of homeland security?
I do not have quick access to any LNG maps but since Ohio used to be a major player for gas wells, I find it hard to believe that there are no major pipelines running through Ohio but if it is so, it is so.
I know there is one this size, or close running through many yards in my area (SW Michigan. major pipeline running from (if I remember correctly) Wisconsin through Michigan and I believe going to Canada.
Re: Natural Gas Easement Repairs in Ohio
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I do not have quick access to any LNG maps but since Ohio used to be a major player for gas wells, I find it hard to believe that there are no major pipelines running through Ohio but if it is so, it is so.
A good point by jk.
Of course major gaslines run across Ohio. They run through some back yards but the odds are very small, maybe one in 100,000 backyards.
Most of us in Ohio and Michigan have a gasline easement at the front or back of our property.
Mine is at the back. It's a four inch line. Most subdivision plats contain these general utility easements. The odds of having a 16" or larger gasline running across your back yard are maybe one in 100,000.
Let's return this to the OP who needs to get some more information out to us. I suspect that this is only the usual backyard subdivision easement just based on simple probabbility.
We have gone too far with speculation at this point. Let's hear back from the OP.
Re: Natural Gas Easement Repairs in Ohio
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LandSurveyor
We have gone too far with speculation at this point. Let's hear back from the OP.
agreed.
I was just trying to make the point; depending on what is really going on, 2 1/2 months is not entirely out of the question. Not typical but not impossible either.
the rest of the info (seed v. sod, no compensation for loss of yard use) is typical and most likely correct. As LS stated, refer to the easement documents for any requirements of any specific or required action on the part of the gas company to repair any yard damage. He sees a lot more actual documents than I ever will but in my experience, requiring sod is very unusual.