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Dave Messersmith of Penn State Extension speaks to a group at Penn State Wilkes-Barre about natural gas line right-of-way issues and imminent domain.

LEHMAN TWP. – Be prepared, get involved and hire expert help.

That was the advice given to landowners affected by proposed natural gas pipeline construction at a workshop Tuesday sponsored Penn State Extension.

“There is some dangerous misinformation out there,” said Carl Engleman Jr., a Reading area attorney who presented part of the program held at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. One of the most potentially harmful is belief that forcing pipeline companies to use eminent domain proceedings to obtain easements can halt a project.

Not so, Engleman said. Instead of settling every claim, companies can get regulatory permission to proceed after posting a bond for an amount equal to the projected cost of all land acquisition.

“That’s what can happen in federal court,” he said.

In federal court companies typically file eminent domain claims for land needed to construct transmission lines like the Atlantic Sunrise and Penn East pipelines that will run through parts of Luzerne County. Smaller gathering pipelines that bring gas from wells to compressor stations fall under state laws, where eminent domain claims must be settled before construction can begin.

So, unless someone is willing to carry the fight against a proposed pipeline across their property to a bitter end, they are better off preparing to negotiate for the highest compensation they can get from companies that would rather settle than fight, Engleman said.

“You can generally get the best deal negotiating,” he said. Taking the eminent domain route removes the motivation for the company to pay or do more than the required minimum.

Most of the members of the audience of 15 were concerned about the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, which would run from Susquehanna County to Lancaster County, crossing the Back Mountain on the way.

Don Wademan, of Factoryville, said Williams, the developer, first approached him about 18 months ago about crossing his land.

“They’ve threatened us with eminent domain since day one,” Wademan said. But after changing the route at the request of a neighboring property owner, “they haven’t really made an offer.”

Wademan has attended other informational meetings looking for tips on how to deal with the company. “You get something at every one,” he said.

Dave Messersmith, a Penn State Extension educator, said 90 percent of easements nationwide are obtained by negotiation. He suggested limiting the scope of any contract as much as possible, then adding provisions for specific concerns such as water testing, hazardous materials liability or decreased crop yield due to land disturbance.

“You generally are given a pretty bare-bones contract” that can be only one or two pages long, he said.

Both speakers advised registering on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission website, www.ferc.gov, and posting comments and objections there, because the companies monitor them.

“Involvement is critical; the sooner you get involved the better off you will be,” Engleman said.

Not only landowners can influence pipeline routes; anyone who can show effects on them has standing to intervene, Engleman said. He gave the example of a fisherman who could show that pipeline construction would degrade a trout stream, or an organization that could prove impacts on a historical site like a Native American burial ground.