gas pressure line in middle of yard?

BlueBSH

Well we WERE going to put an in-ground pool in, but when the yard was marked out the gas company said there is a 3" pressure line going through the middle of our yard, 50 feet into the yard! I thought they generally ran stuff like this where right of ways where? within the first 12-15 ft of your yard... this line services two houses behind us apparently, and the fastest way to get to them was to run it right through the middle of our side yard....

is this allowed anywhere? any reason why they would put it in the middle of someones yard? the house was built 13yrs ago but the house it first ran to was built 20yrs ago... the main 6" line runs down our front yard within 10 ft of the road, then it T's of to this 3" line from the front goes down the side yard and to the neighbors....

now the pool would of went right over where they marked it out..... anyone know if there is anything that can be done about this?

the whole yard is a total 220' long, so 50' in is a good bit into the yard... considering that puts it a whole 20' from the closest house wall

Daniel Holzman

Gas companies typically operate under utility rules if they are local, and under federal rules if they are interstate (like Tennessee Gas). Good chance that line was there before the house was built. In any case, there is probably nothing you can do about it, except of course stay off the line, but you can always call the local authorities and the gas line to see if they will relocate it. Good luck. I hear it is easier to negotiate with a terrorist than with the gas company.

George6488

Check your deed and title search from when you bought the property.
Check to see if the utility has a right of way recorded as part of your deed.
If they do.......you are probably out of luck unless they will work with you to relocate the line at your expense, their expense or a shared expense.

A 3" line is a very large line for high pressure gas.

If they do not have a right of way....call the utility and politely ask that they relocate the line to a right of way but off your property. If that fails....call an attorney and a good letter might get you some action at a very low cost.

I bought land many years ago and asked the electric company to move their lines so that poles would span my front yard and not sit in the middle. They did not have a legal right of way. They gave me all this mumble-jumble about them being there first. I explained that we could work together if they relocated 2 poles and they could stay on my land. They said "no". I hired an attorney and they ended up moving 2 miles of poles off private land and onto the roadway right of way.

Their field people wanted to work with me but their management only looked at the short-term cost. I made my point over $100,000 in costs to them.
They now have a team that will work property disputes with landowners and they make sure they have a legal right of way before they run their mouths. I even collected $1,200 in pole rental from them until they could get the relocation scheduled and permitted by the town.

You can fight City Hall and win! Just be polite,firm and 100% convinced that you are legally correct.