A legal fight is intensifying over a proposed natural gas pipeline from Georgia into South Carolina. Landowners are arguing that the pipeline's company, Elba Express, should not be allowed onto private property for survey work before obtaining crucial federal permission.
That battle may now expand sharply as a class action filing could bring in up to 94 property owners seeking to stop that access, The State reported.
What happened?
On July 8, a Lowcountry resident who owns three parcels along the potential route filed a suit against Elba Express, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary, and asked that the case be treated as a class action, according to The State.
If the court agrees, the case could include 94 landowners. All of them oppose the company's efforts to conduct surveys for the proposed 71-mile gas pipeline.
The $431 million project would connect to an existing line in Georgia, run through Hampton and Colleton counties, and end in Canadys, South Carolina, where utilities want to build a proposed 2,200-megawatt natural gas plant.
To advance the proposal, Elba Express has filed about 100 cases in South Carolina, The State reported, along with additional cases in Georgia, asking for access to private land for survey work.
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Those landowners are asking judges to dismiss the cases. Their court filings argue, according to The State, that Elba Express does not yet have a certificate from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. That means it can't rely on eminent domain-related authority to force entry. Some filings also say the wrong corporate name was used in court papers.
Charleston attorney Will Cook, who represents at least 10 landowners in separate cases, said, "The right to exclude people from trespassing is one of our most fundamental property rights."
Why does it matter?
The proposed route would cross wetlands, rivers, forests, farms, and rural homes in a part of the state where timber, agriculture, and wildlife habitat all matter. Many residents there also value the area's calm character.
Critics say the information gathered helps shape the final route and can later lead to easements or condemnation proceedings if the company and landowners fail to reach a deal.
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For property owners, that could mean long-term restrictions on land use, along with possible effects on habitat and natural terrain.
Cook said, "There is a lot of distrust, anger and general opposition to the pipeline."
Shelley Robbins, who follows pipeline issues for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said to The State, "Once you have a pipeline easement, if there are future expansion plans, you are more than likely going to end up with more than one pipeline on the property."
What's being done?
Beyond class action status, the resident's lawsuit also seeks an injunction that would keep Elba Express surveyors off private property unless they have permission, The State reported.
Other landowners have brought separate lawsuits raising similar claims, broadening the legal fight over the company's route-selection process.
Kinder Morgan spokesperson Allen Fore said the company needs to visit sites to collect better information and possibly steer the route away from sensitive features on a property.
The bottom line is that courts still must decide whether the survey access requests can move ahead. Federal regulators have yet to decide whether the overall project should be approved.
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