A few minutes ago a young man stopped by to ask about running pipeline across my property. It was just a preliminary questioning about how or where the drilling company will put a gathering line between wells and then to a larger line to wheverever. The route has not yet been decided upon but it seems it will  probably be across my land westward to another gas well. I estimate the distance across my property to be perhaps 2000 feet. About 15 acres of open land now being used for cutting hay from and the rest being old pasture now grown up to brush. A creek crossing and then across another area of open land. Then up a rather steep bank to a wooded area with sizeable trees. The woods are probably about 600 or so feet to the line fence.

My question is what is a good price to ask for the pipeline crossing? And what can I expect concerning the logs and treetops. I burn firewood

Looking at a map the young man brought for me to look at, the route between wells is nearly straight. There could only be a small detour around a house and a new sewer system just installed.

Any ideas or information will be appreciated

 

Bill Ladd

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Arriving back from a 4 day vacation trip we noticed that the one Travis Peake site next to my property has brought in heavy trucks and a excavator ready to build an access road to the well site. I presume bulldozers will be delivered to the area within a day or so. Also an area near the township road has been marked off, presumedly as a staging or storage area for additional equipment.

The pipeline across my property has a couple markers and as far as I know, the approval of my suggestion to change the location a few hundred yards to the south. In a few days we will hammer out some kind of lease agreement or not!

Bill L.

Bill,

In my opinion, pipeline companies are trolling for real cheap ROW's to sell to other pipeline companies when things pick up in our area. There have been cases where pipeline companies have purchased ROW's for a few dollars a foot and sold them for ten to fifteen times the price plus flowage royalties. O&G companies bought many of our leases for $5 to $50 dollars per acre and sold them in the height of leasing boom at $4K-$5K per acre and 20% royalty not to mention the addendums. They reaped the profits, not our neighbors.

We're talking about tens of millions of dollars made off unsuspecting land owners.

I've been approached by one company at $17/ foot when the same company is paying two to three times that much within a hundred miles of me. Pipe line ROW's are going for ten times that price in other areas. I'm not going to supplement the O&G industry any longer and I suggest none of us in Tioga County do either.

We have something O&G needs. They are drilling and leasing land. They NEED pipeline. They are not going to GIVE UP on pipelines. They will pay us what the ROW's are worth. We may just have to wait.

A couple of pipeline representatives came two days ago and laid out the plans for us and what we can expect. One concession has been made as to where the ROW will be. We were told that the entire length has been "walked" from the well site to the Ladd road. I estimate this to be about two miles as the crow flies. And then another estimated mile to the second well site from the Ladd road west across route 349..

They want to start in May of next year. 90 days was the time period we were told it would take to complete the job.

We talked about the tree removal and where they were to be put. I need them where I can get to them for cutting into firewood.

They want a 75 foot wide permanent  ROW. And to start with, 100 feet for access and working area.

One 12 inch pipe and maybe a surface, temporary water line. Possibly a second pipeline might be laid but not much was said about this.

The Representative said he will be coming back with a lease agreement later this week.

 An offer was mentioned but nothing definite. 

I am hoping that some sort of agreement can hammered out.

One neighbor next door to us has express his disapproval of the trucks already roaring past his home on their way to the drilling site. We did not know at the time of our conversation, that a pipeline ROW just might be within a stone's throw of his home. I seldom see him anyway.

There are two main concerns that I have. One is the actual footage across the property. I am not able to actually pace it out myself and I don't want to be short changed on the length. The other concern is, will this lease be sold to another pipeline company thereby us throwing away a few thousand dollars away?

We shall see what we shall see!

Bill L.

 

A friend of mine on am unrelated issue borrowed my hunting range finder to estimate some distances.  Perhaps such a device could help you out as well Mr. Ladd.

Is there anyone here who might clue me in to what the value of an acre of "Row" might be worth?  I will  lose about 7 Acres for "ROW". all together I have about 15 A of "brushy" old pasture land that will lose about 2 Acres to "ROW". Another three  acres of open hay or cropland and the rest in timber will be lost to "ROW".

I'm a little undecided about the selling the saleable logs myself. I might allow the pipeline to excerize their option to sell the logs. And I wonder if the chipping of stumps and brush will just be left on the ground or will chips be sold?  I am hoping to have treetops brought down to a place I can get to them. I no longer have a tractor or a suitable access for a pickup truck to get to the tops.

Any input will be helpful.

Thank you.

Bill Ladd

To Brian Day.  I have in my possession, the original deeds, that have the exact dimensions of my property listed on them. A little mathematical effort on my part with the  help of a calculator solved that problem.

Again! I thank every one who has helped me solve the pipeline problem

Bill L.

Bill,

What are they paying you?

Good morning Thomas. I seem to recall a sum being mentioned of $10.50 per foot. The route they mapped out for me leaves two pie shaped sections. One part of the pie sections can be planted to trees as it would be too  narrow for much of anything else and those two  sections will be cut off from crop land and be unusable for much of anything else.

The timber area has been cut a couple years ago but there are many many maples that might be big enough now for harvest. .There are other specie like beech and some basswood and maybe even ash and hickory. I hate to see them go.....once they are gone, they are gone for good!

I cant get, easily, to the timber land area so I have to depend on someone else to check it out.

All told, I expect that about 7 acres will be needed for that pipeline. 2 or a little more  acres of timber, 3 acres of old brushy pasture and the rest of crop land.

Bill L.

 

That is a very low payout. See my above post. Unless you absolutely can't live without the money, you are leaving tens of thousands on the table for the Pipeline company to profit from at your expense in my opinion.

We were offered $17/foot and I think that's obserd.

Hi Thomas

If need be, we can get along without the money. Sure it would be helpful but I have no intention to give away any part of the property that was left  to me by my parents without a darn good reason. Like my wife says, "the pipeline needs us more then we need the pipeline!"

Bill L.

After rereading and a few months after the decision we made, I now have information that was not available at the time to me.

That pipeline could have taken a different path only a few hundred feet either to the left or to the right. And maybe I could have demanded a bigger piece of that pie. And probably would have lost much more then a few thousand dollars.  

Having  said this, I do not regret my decision to settle for their final offer.

Life is the process of making choices. A bad choice based entirely on the slight possibility of a huge financial reward is a pretty poor reason to lose sight of what the gift of life is about.

Granddad  Ladd

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