Photo credit: Carol Manuel
Pipelines like this one in Asylum Township, Bradford County, are being installed in many places, and the gas industry may, in fact, be able to rely on eminent domain to access right-of-way. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) is considering at least one application from a gas pipeline company seeking public utility status. Laser Marcellus Gathering Company, LLC, hopes to obtain a certificate of public convenience from the PUC "to operate as an intrastate natural gas pipeline providing gathering and transportation services to unaffiliated producers." Under consideration is a 30-mile long pipeline to connect gas wells in western Susquehanna County and the Southern Tier of New York to the Millenium Pipeline at a location in Broome County, NY. Future projects may include additional delivery points to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline and the Stagecoach Natural Gas Storage Facility in PA. Property owners may be forced against their will to surrender right-of-way via emminent domain. Hearings at the PUC are to take place in July.
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