PA Environment Digest

Rep. Curt Schroder (R-Chester) told the House Consumer Affairs Committee this week communities and the property rights of individual citizens are being infringed upon by the federal government and big gas companies.

Rep. Schroder is proposing legislation to establish a regional interstate compact that will take the responsibility of siting interstate gas pipelines away from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

"From what I have seen and based upon the experience of Chester County residents and municipalities, the current system of siting natural gas pipelines is broken," Rep. Schroder said. "It works just fine from the perspective of the pipeline company because FERC acts primarily as a rubber stamp to accommodate the wishes of the pipeline company to take the least expensive route to their destination.

"When this happens, individual and commercial property owners lose," he said. "Their land is devoured by pipeline easements and natural and historic resources are often threatened. The individual is left with little recourse except to plead their case to a distant and unresponsive federal bureaucracy whose only mission seems to be to facilitate the pipeline company's desires."

House Bill 1817 would establish the Mid Atlantic Area Natural Gas Corridor Compact. Rep. Schroder told the committee his legislation would bring decision making closer to the people and force pipeline companies to be more responsive to the needs and concerns of the community.

Rep. Schroder's legislation would take into consideration the presence of protected areas such as agricultural land, monuments, historic sites, wilderness areas, scenic rivers and waterways. It would also consider the potential impact on the environment, fish and wildlife.

In addition, House Bill 1817 would address concerns raised by property owners in his district who have had their land taken by eminent domain to accommodate a pipeline. Rep. Schroder's bill would require rights of way be minimized to lessen the impact on property owners.

"The presence of a regional compact would protect citizens, commercial interests and the environment from a gas industry that places a higher premium on expediency and a federal government that seems to support that approach," said Rep. Schroder. "There are very real human and environmental concerns that need to be addressed and those concerns have been ignored for far too long. My bill would change that."

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