11/18/24 - 107 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/3zb7jppr
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Opinion- Natural Gas Pipelines Within Wyoming County
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By Paul J. Weilage, Planning Director for Wyoming County Many local property owners will be asked some very important questions which could establish future land use patterns for Wyoming County. This will be part of the important decision making process on signing gas pipeline right-of-way agreement.
There is a vast array of issues that property owners will face, which will both have an immediate effect for them and their land; 1) location, 2) price to be paid, 3) terms of the agreement, 4) what surface rights as property owner will be retained, 5) will ROW effect the taxation of the land (clean & green program).
All these are critical decisions for the landowner. From a land use planning perspective, how will these present decisions affect the future land use, both at the local level (parcel level) but also at the municipal and county level? Also, what can be done to prevent and minimize the future risk for the safety and welfare of the residents from pipeline development but more so from development encroaching on the pipelines in a post development state?
These future issues will be based on what and where some of these pipelines are placed currently in this decision making process.
The internet is full of information on land use and pipeline safety for property owners to study, but some of this information needs to be reviewed very carefully. This is due to the fact that many states have state-wide standards for the development of gathering lines and standards for local zoning for such development.
Since Pennsylvania currently does not have state standards or guidelines for the development of these types of lines, land use conflicts will most likely occur at some time in the future. It is critical that the state set standards for what is the safe isolation distance between various land uses and high pressure gas collection lines.
This should not be a one size fits all and should be based on risks associated with various types of lines. This should be based on type of pipeline, size and pressure establishing a safe risk factor.
The Pennsylvania Municipality Planning Code exempted from local enforcement all actives which are regulated by the State through the oil and gas act. Municipalities can regulate through local zoning where gas wells may be located, but not any activity regulated by the oil and gas act.
It has been said that the municipal planning code, exempted gas wells from being addressed so that there would be a state-wide standard for well development across the state and regulated by DEP, and thus, not having 2000 plus local governments regulating development of well sites.
Much the same can be said for pipeline development, as for the need for statewide standards to establish a safe buffer between development and gas pipelines, not just a required R.O.W. for pipeline construction. This buffer needs to be developed for both pre-pipeline development so property owners truly know what development rights will be sign away, but also post pipeline development to protect the pipeline right of way from development encroachment.
Some of the pipeline companies have stated that the role of establishment of pipeline facilities should be solely subject to working agreements between the pipeline company and the property owner. This is totally the opposite approach that is being taken from well development and is this approach in the best interest of future land use for our region?
Now in Susquehanna County Laser Midstream is applying to the PUC to be treated as a utility, so they will have condemnation rights to establish the required corridors to construct gathering lines. If approved, this will allow a pipeline Company to set the standard for location!
With both of these approaches, one the property owner or two the pipeline company will be making future land use decisions for both the community at large and also for their neighbor and what they feel is the acceptable risk of development adjacent to gas pipelines.
Pipeline Issues That Need To Be Addressed
-- Need for a State-wide Citizens Committee on pipeline safety to be established with pipeline companies, state government, county government, local government and citizens participating.
-- Need for local education on land-use issues both pre-pipeline development and post-pipeline development, to lessen their impact on the local community.
-- Need for good mapping of pipelines as they are built and providing that mapping to both Counties and local government. Without good mapping land-use conflicts in the future cannot be avoided.
-- Local land-use needs to be analyzed during development of pipeline corridors, so as not to use up prime local resource (soils) for pipeline development, which are not dependent on such resources, unlike housing and then placing pipelines in such areas of future development, which will create land-use conflicts in the future.
-- The need to address and to mitigate fragmentation of property in the development of the pipeline grid.
-- The need to establish unified design standards for setbacks for pipelines (regardless of classification) and for development around all pipelines, that will be based on size and pressure of pipelines, not by type or name (gathering lines, interstate lines, and distribution system).
From a planning and safety approach it would be wiser to establish both consultation zone standards and requirements for high consequence land uses, such as schools or hospitals with high density on-site populations or hard to evacuate uses. These setbacks standards need to be established state-wide and industry-wide then need to be able to be added to local zoning ordinances.
These issues need to be addressed both pre pipeline development, by state standards and post pipeline development within local ordinances, which would not be allowed to differ from the state standard to control future development around or adjacent to any pipeline so as to insure compliance in the future.
Local ordinances would not be regulating the pipelines, but local development adjacent to them, but need standards and authority to do that. It cannot be arbitrary.
-- Any proposed increase in pipe size and pressure or multi lines would need to meet the standard for that new design. This would mandate the design of all proposed new pipelines to have right-of-way adequate for future expansion and safety. Not plan for one size, just to get the ROW, knowing it will need to be increased in the near future.
NewsClips: PUC Needs Authority Over Gas Pipelines
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6/14/2010 |
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