The following is a news article discussing a recent meeting held on behalf of property owners who are being affected by the Rockies Express Pipeline. Phil Sever was a presenter at this meeting and is quoted in the article. REX is a proposed 638-mile pipeline from Audrain County, Missouri, to Monroe County, Ohio. REX affects the property values of hundreds of Indiana residents. On April 30, 2007, Rockies Express Pipeline filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for approval of the REX — East portion of the project. Construction of REX — East is scheduled to begin in the Summer of 2008. The targeted partial in-service date for the pipeline, meter stations, and most compressor stations is December 2008. The targeted in-service date for all of REX — East is June 2009.
REX is currently making offers to purchase easements and right of ways for their pipeline. When dealing with Pipeline representatives it is always important to fully understand your rights before agreeing to any proposals. An attorney can help protect your rights and insure that you recieve full compensation for any land or rights taken by a pipeline.
Adam Huening
The emotion of many landowners, facing the arrival of the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline, seemed to overflow Thursday evening.
More than 100 people, from Morgan, Johnson, Shelby, Decatur and Franklin counties, as well as some from Ohio, comprised of at least 62 landowners according to local organizer and pipeline opponent Joe Rust, gathered to discuss legal options for impending negotiations with REX, which wishes to bury a pipeline on their properties.
Many landowners jotted notes with intent. Some seemed to barely contain their anger while others could only wring their hands nervously and stare at the basement floor of the First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg. Indiana attorney Phil Sever, who along with Arkansas lawyer Seneca Jacobs, gave the group their rights and strategy tactics. This helped the reality of the situation hit home.
“REX is coming onto your land. The time to stop the pipeline has left the building. The constitution says you have the right to fair compensation for that land. Achieving that is your only recourse,” Sever said.
Sever, as well as Jacobs, told the group how to negotiate with the pipeline company to make the unavoidable a little less bitter, according to Rust. Those feelings, he said, have been present since the idea encroached on landowners’ peace of mind when their land was cut by a blue line on a map in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Washington, D.C. office.
“Most people feel abandoned by the federal government. I think that was something that gave (Reroute REX) credibility. We’re the only one’s fighting to give them a voice,” Rust said.
Throughout the last year-and-a-half, the group has tried to make noise and show the government and REX how they feel. It has not fallen completely on politicians’ deaf ears, he noted. State Rep. Cleo Duncan (R-Greensburg) and State Sen. Bob Jackman (R-Milroy) were in attendance Thursday evening, and Jackman previously pushed legislation through that outlined how energy companies like REX should operate in Indiana.
“These people trampled on the rights of the citizens of Indiana. That’s why the legislation passed, and the Governor signed it. Let’s face the facts, if it wasn’t an issue, the Governor wouldn’t have signed it,” Rust said. “If they wouldn’t have done that, I believe REX would be running roughshod over people.”
Both Sever and Jacobs offered an array of different strategies; such as hiring legal representation during negotiation, disallowing tests without being provided documentation from REX and getting everything in writing. They, as well as Rust, pushed for the landowners to unite together. To REX, Sever said, it’s all about economics.
“REX wants to build a sense of urgency in you. It’s very car salesmanish,” Sever said to the group. “Time is really on your side. Each one of you represents a cost to REX, not just your land but how much it will cost to get your land. They make a decision not based on emotion but on good business sense. To try to get 100 peoples’ land through litigation is not a good cost in a business sense.”
Rust said many landowners heard the message loud and clear. After the meeting, many stuck around to speak with him and the attorneys in the hopes of getting the best out of the unsolicited sale as possible. While he wasn’t sure what would come of it, Rust said he would continue the fight and hoped he equipped landowners with the right weapons to make the deal work for them.
“I was looking out for the best of the landowners. The rest is up to them. No one is going to hold a gun to their head,” Rust said.