Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation Pursuing Acquisitions for Marshall to Coldwater Pipeline Replacement Project

Efforts being made to obtain right of way for a project that was approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission. 

Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation entered into an Order Approving Settlement Agreement on July 7, 2023, to construct a pipeline replacement project. The pipeline runs from Marshall to Coldwater and requires the acquisition of a new right of way. The Order available on the link includes exhibits superimposing the route of the project over aerial images of the impacted properties.

The Settlement Agreement implemented by the Order allows construction of a 12-inch natural gas pipeline. The pipeline must be constructed within the approved route, although some minor deviations are allowed and can be administratively approved. The Order required additional environmental and other permits, which explains why right-of-way acquisition is now underway almost a year later.

The route passes mostly through agricultural areas.  In some cases, the route crosses active fields. In other instances, it runs along treed property lines and will likely require removal of those trees to facilitate construction and allow aerial surveillance. Some residential lots on Lyon and Long Lakes are impacted.

Property owners should be careful about a number of issues. First, sometimes agencies with the right to acquire property for one purpose seek to obtain easements that are broader than required for that project. For example, I have handled pipeline matters where an agency was entitled to obtain a right of way for a single pipe of a specified diameter to transport one type of material. However, the pipeline company sought to acquire the right to install multiple pipes of undefined diameter transporting any type of material. Second, pipeline companies are required to pay just compensation. This could include impacts on farmland triggered by compaction, above ground installations, and the right of the pipeline company to access the property in the future. The loss of windbreak trees could impact property. Additionally, while not all farmland is on the verge of development for a more intense highest and best, some farmland is, particularly if it is close to or in a city or village.  Pipelines can also interfere with drain tiles or irrigation systems. 

For residential property, pipelines can have impacts ranging from safety considerations (natural gas pipelines sometimes explode) to loss of aesthetics to restrictions on the ability to expand improvements.

I have handled many pipeline cases for farmers, developers, and homeowners. If you have been asked to convey the right of way, please feel free to reach out.