6
Landowners Resource Guide for Pipeline Easements and Rights-of-Way Pipeline Information Center
Penn State Extension has identi ed numerous considerations that
may be included in a pipeline agreement or addendum. Some of
these are:
• Payments for trees, crops, etc., damaged during the installation of
the pipeline.
• Reseeding of easement areas and what types of grasses and other
improvements, including the amount of time following completion
of construction for surface restoration to be completed.
• Identi cation of all stream crossings, statement of methods of
stream crossings, and requirement for restoration of stream
crossings after construction.
• Replacement or installation of fencing and gates (with materials
speci ed), including which gates will have locks and what type of
lock will be used.
• Who from the pipeline company and their contractors will have
access to gated areas?
• De nition of substances that can be transported in the pipeline ,
and the total number of lines in the R.O.W.
The Penn State Extension
publication on negotiating
pipeline rights of way can be
view
ed here.
You can also visit the Ohio State
Univ
ersity Extension’s page on
understanding and negotiating
pipeline easements, here.
The negotiation process allows the landowner to have a say in
det
ermining how much they will be compensated for the easement.
Penn State Extension notes that payments to landowners for
granting right-of-way easements vary between pipeline operators,
the type of pipeline, and the location of the easement. Most
payments involve a set dollar amount per linear foot (or per “rod,”
which is 16.5 feet). In Pennsylvania, easement agreements have
ranged from less than $5.00 to more than $25.00 per linear foot.
Landowners should also determine how any payments will impact
their taxes prior to negotiating compensation.
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FACT SHEET
Ohio State University Extension, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH 43210
“Shale Oil and Gas Development” Fact Sheet Series
Understanding and Negotiating Pipeline
Easements
Peggy Kirk Hall
Director , OSU Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Pr ogram
Christopher Hogan and Logan Wills
Progra m Assistants, OSU Extension Agricultural & Resour ce Law Program
Introduction
Pipelines play an important role in the development of Ohio’s shale resources. As shale development
in Ohio continues to expand, so does the need for pipelines that transport shale gas resources. Many
landowners may be approached by companies who want to construct a pipeline across their properties.
Landowners facing this situation will benefit from understanding and negotiating the pipeline easement,
also referred to as the pipeline “right-of-way.” This fact sheet explains pipeline easements and reviews
issues and terms for landowners to consider when negotiating an easement. For additional information
on pipelines, pipeline regulation and pipeline construction see our pipeline fact sheet series on OSU
Extension’s shale education library at http://shalegas.osu.edu.
What is a Pipeline Easement?
Generally, an easement is a legal interest that allows someone the right to use another’s property for
a certain purpose. A pipeline easement specifically gives the easement holder the right to build and
maintain a pipeline on a landowner’s property. It doesn’t grant the easement holder actual ownership of
the land, just a right to use the land for pipeline purposes. The easement “runs with the land,” meaning
that it remains on the property and applies to all future property owners. The easement should be in
writing, signed by the landowner and recorded with the county recorder. Typically, a pipeline easement
is permanent and does not have a termination date, although parties can agree to an easement that lasts
for a certain period of time. Note that the term “right-of-way agreement” has the same legal meaning as
the term “easement,” and that many refer to the piece of land that is the subject of the ease ment as a
“right -of-way.” For this fact sheet, we will use the term “easement” rather than “right-of-way.”
ment of Ohio
s shale resources. As shale develo
ment
for pipelines that transport shale gas resources. Many
ho want to
onstruct a pipeline across
properties.
n
r
tan
ng and negotiating the pipeline easement
hi
fa
t
h
t ex
lains
i
eline easements and
i
en negotiating a
a
m
nt
F
r a
iti
nal inf
rmati
n
onstruction see our pipeline fact sheet series on OSU
t
someone the right to use another’s property fo
he easement holde
t
il
an
n’t
rant th
a
m
nt h
l
actual ownership of
ur
oses
h
a
m
r
with the land,” meanin
ll
propert
n
r
Th
a
m
nt
h
l
in
ith the county recorder. Typically, a pipeline easement
right
way agre ement” has the sa me lega l meaning as
piece of land that is the subject of the easement as a
e term “easement” rather than “rig
way.”
Marcellus
Education
Fact Sheet
Background
S
urging natural gas production in
the Marcellus and Utica shale
formations have ushered in a
wave of pipeline development proj-
ects designed to increase takeaway
capacity out of the Appalachian
basin. As a result, communities
throughout the Commonwealth
are experiencing an intense level of
natural gas pipeline development.
As of the writing of this publication
(August 2015) approximately 3,000
miles of interstate natural gas pipe-
line are being proposed in the region,
with construction reaching into ten
states. Combined, the proposed proj-
ects would have the ability to move
an additional 16.8 billion cubic feet
of natural gas per day plus 120,000
barrels per day of natural gas liquids
out of the Marcellus. Six of the pro-
posed projects would originate in
Pennsylvania’s northern Marcellus
production area and seven, including
two liquids pipelines, would origi-
nate in the western Pennsylvania,
Ohio, and West Virginia tri-state
area (see map on p. 2). Most of these
projects are expected to be complet-
ed and operational by 2017–2018.
What Is a Pipeline Right-of-Way?
A pipeline right-of-way is a strip of
land over and around natural gas
pipelines where some of the prop-
erty owner’s legal rights have been
granted to a pipeline operator. A
right-of-way agreement between the
pipeline company and the property
owner is also called an easement
Negotiating Pipeline Rights-of-Way
in Pennsylvania
and is usually led in the county
Register and Recorders Office with
property deeds. Rights-of-way and
easements provide a permanent,
limited interest in the land that
enables the pipeline company to
install, operate, test, inspect, alter,
repair, maintain, replace, and pro-
tect one or more pipelines within
the designated easement. The
agreement may vary the rights and
widths of the right-of-way, but,
generally, the pipeline company’s
rights-of-way extend 25 feet from
each side of a pipeline unless special
conditions exist. These easements
can be both permanent and tem-
porary, with temporary easements
granting the pipeline company addi-
tional space for construction.
Types of Gas Pipelines
Essentially, three major types of
pipelines occur along the transpor-
tation route: gathering lines, the
interstate pipeline, and the distri-
bution system. Gathering lines are
small-diameter pipelines (6–20 inch-
es) that move natural gas from the
wellhead to a natural gas processing
facility or an interconnection with a
larger mainline pipeline.
Transmission pipelines are
wide-diameter (20–48 inches), long-
distance pipelines that transport
natural gas from producing areas
to market areas. Interstate pipe-
lines carry natural gas across state
boundaries—in some cases, clear
across the country.
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Hall, Understanding and Negotiating Pipeline Easements.
Easement Negotiation Process (cont.)