# utlity easement issue



## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

I am putting up a fence for cattle in TN so I did my due diligence and called 811 "before you dig" but I did not know of any utilities on my property other than my own that come from across the road. So when the gas company arrived they told me that on the north side of my property 3 feet on me from the property is a 4" gas pipeline at 300 PSI and that I had to hand dig the pull posts for that corner and they had to be there when I dig them. I asked the guy how come they don't have an easement? his response kind of baffled me, "The gas line was here before you" so through further inquiry the gas line was put there in the 1960's but there is no easement on record. 
My interest here is this, if they drive their dozers and excavators onto my property there will most likely be some sort of standoff that will either result in me being arrested or me being justified for standing my ground! Anyone ever hear of such occurrence? So at this point my interest is am I entitled to free gas as well? If the gas company can come in any time they want to in order to repair said line I would be ok with this, if they give me free gas that is! I am guessing this is going to be a visit to an attorneys office soon, first to the courthouse to look back at any records from the 60's that might exist regarding this pipeline. The good news is that the person I purchased the land from owned it from 1937 so it should be able to be found I would think.
I am just thinking, water heater, furnace, some gas lights in the basement, some gas lights by the driveway, already have a gas stove. Heck I would run a generator on Natural gas if it were free!artydance:


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

I've never heard of anyone getting free gas for an easement so I'd scratch that idea. _Most of those lines are under too high of a pressure and may have wet gas so you couldn't use it anyway_.

As for the easement and the gas line, you'll want to find it recorded on your deed.

A few things come to mind.
1. Their easement may be 50' wide or wider. It might have been less back in the '60s but they have them wide now so they can put in more gas lines if/when needed.

2. Around here, _and I think by law_, they have to have visual markers every 500' or if in hilly terrain, line of sight from one marker to the next showing exactly where the gas line is. That should show you exactly where the gas line is under your property.

3. There's gas lines running all through farmers fields and such. They therefore put these lines in at a depth of at least 4' (mine are 6' down). This allows the surface to be farmed, plowed and such without issue to the gas lines. They don't have to call 811 to plow their field. When you find the easement on your deed, it should say you have full surface rights. If it's noted there, I wouldn't think you have to call 811 either.

4. When they ran a gas line through my place, they hired a company to put in the fencing afterwards. They came in with a skidsteer with post hole digger to put in the posts. I'm positive they didn't call 811.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

1. If there is a utility easement it may be recorded on your deed. You can get a copy of your deed at the County courthouse.

2. If the utility easement is not recorded on your deed it maybe recorded on the original property deed, the Owner that owned the land before the land was divided into small lots like yours?

3. The gas company may not have an easement BUT they can claim ownership because no one since 1960 has made an issue of it. For an example there is a trash filled weed filled vacate lot beside you. You are tired of looking at it so over a period of time you remove the trash, cut the weeds, leveled it and now it's a nice yard. The vacate lot owner has never said boo, complained or asked for compensation. You could legally claim ownership, like the gas company may have done.

4. If you borrowed the money for the property then a Title Company should have been involved. Title Company is responsible to insure the property is clear of any other debts or interests. You may have recourse against the Title Company for failure to disclose the gas easement.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Before you run down to the courthouse, check your County's home page. Many have this information online now.



TheLazyL said:


> 3. The gas company may not have an easement BUT they can claim ownership because no one since 1960 has made an issue of it. For an example there is a trash filled weed filled vacate lot beside you. You are tired of looking at it so over a period of time you remove the trash, cut the weeds, leveled it and now it's a nice yard. The vacate lot owner has never said boo, complained or asked for compensation. You could legally claim ownership, like the gas company may have done.


This is called "Adverse Possession" and I've never heard of a utility company doing it.
First, they need to maintain the property for 7 years without the owners consent.
Second, even if they did maintain it, it may be part of the ROW requirements per the deed.
Third, if they did do it, they would now own the land and have to pay all the taxes. Gas companies aren't interested in owning the land over their gas lines. A few years back, they laid about 100 miles of gas line around me. They could have bought the a lot of the land for what they paid owners for the ROW but had zero interest in buying it.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Your state legislature could have granted the gas company rights that are not listed on the deed.


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

I seriously doubt you're gonna get free anything out of it, and may just end up wasting a lot of your time.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

I don't think you have a chance getting free gas. 

Like most of us don't own land anyway we rent it for the tax man, and we also seldom own the mineral rights to our aka there property.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

In for what you find out with this.


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

Meerkat said:


> Like most of us don't own land anyway we rent it for the tax man, and we also seldom own the mineral rights to our aka there property.


Yep.
I have 80 acres, I only own the top 9 inches.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

bbqjoe said:


> Yep.
> I have 80 acres, I only own the top 9 inches.


Thats much more common out west than on the east coast.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

bbqjoe said:


> Yep.
> I have 80 acres, I only own the top 9 inches.


Dang, that sucks.

Where I live (PA), in general, the mineral rights are split into 2 categories. Hard elements (mainly coal) and gas elements (ethane, natural gas).

A lot of the rights for the hard elements were sold off by landowners 100+ years ago.

There was no interest in the gas elements until a few years back when drilling technology allowed going deep underground (like 1-3 miles down) where they found a ton of gas.

Well, they came around and signed up all the landowners to lease those gas rights. They paid really good money. There was a signing bonus of about $3000/acre upfront. (Yep, for a 200 acre farm, they would cut you a check for $600,000). If they drilled under your property, you also got royalties. _The royalties varied by the amount of gas under your land but in general, it's $100-200 per acre, per month.

_To get the gas out, they would also contract with landowners for pipelines. It varies but $25-30 per linear foot of gas line through your property would be about normal.


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## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

my deed is clear of all/any easements and i own fully all mineral rights. This is getting interesting for sure! Ill keep you updated as i learn more....good or bad!


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

cqp33 said:


> my deed is clear of all/any easements and i own fully all mineral rights.


If you have any road frontage, you can plan on there being an easement there, but may be implicit.

I don't know if this is everywhere in the nation, but everywhere I've lived, your property is measured from the center line of the road. Therefore, you're automatically giving an easement for your half of the road. It's also common to have an easement from the center line of the road for a certain # of feet, that extends beyond the actual road width. That extra is for utility companies to run their services along the side of the road. Around here, I think it's something like 8-10' from the edge of the road.


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

cqp33 said:


> my deed is clear of all/any easements and i own fully all mineral rights. This is getting interesting for sure! Ill keep you updated as i learn more....good or bad!


Do you have a home on your property? Do you have utilities to your home... Electric, Phone, Cable TV, Natural Gas?

*Rancher*


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

azrancher said:


> Do you have a home on your property? Do you have utilities to your home... Electric, Phone, Cable TV, Natural Gas?
> 
> *Rancher*


Can't speak for your State but where I am, there is no easement for utilities to your house. It's the owners and the owners responsibility. E.g. my water meter is in the easement near the road. From that meter to the house, there is no easement and I'm responsible for the line should there be an issue.


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

ZoomZoom said:


> Can't speak for your State but where I am, there is no easement for utilities to your house. It's the owners and the owners responsibility. E.g. my water meter is in the easement near the road. From that meter to the house, there is no easement and I'm responsible for the line should there be an issue.


Ah yes, on water that is true, they own the valve and the meter... if you want to shut off the water at the meter, you had better install your own valve, I caught heck for using their valve, however for electric, gas, phone, & cable the demarcation point is normally on the house, on electric you may own the meter box, but don't you dare touch their meter, and getting electric in AZ involves an easement.

*Rancher *


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Hmmm, forgot about the electric meter on the house.

I'm thinking about it more but still don't think I have an easement for utilities from the road to the house. An easement implies they own something going through the easement. Around here, the homeowners buy, own and maintain whatever utility lines you have from the road to your house. We still have to do OneCall (811) before digging in the area but I'd think that more for safety than the protection of whatever you hit. The cable company could care less if you rip up your cable line. You catch the electric line, whatever breaker trips on the power company side may take our more than your house (a lot more) so they have a bit more interest.


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## txcatlady (Sep 26, 2013)

Our power company had us sign an easement to run electricity to our house. They have a lock to one of our gates where they can come on our property to clear trees or repair. My husbands land has mineral rights owned by several relatives for the wells. He has surface rights and had to sign permission for them to run gas pipeline across his land. Nice check and they repaired all surface damage. All lines are marked. Last well they put in, he had them use the water well they drilled to fill a lake he had them dig and leave the water well open. If it is a new line, you can negotiate. An old line or existing line you probably don't have any power to stop or keep them off. I do they they have to contact landowner before they come in. Not ask permission, but inform you.


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## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

This line runs 2800 feet from east to west 3 feet on me from my boundary with my neighbor to the north, the road frontage runs north to south. There is a 2" line on the road that is in the ditch, that is where my NG is piped from to my house. 
In TN where I live it is 20' from center line of road for the road easement, you better not build a fence, etc on it or if someone hits it, the damage to their vehicle is your fault! This 2' line falls into this area so it is not on me and falls into the state road easement.
This high pressure line is fed from several gas wells in the area and provides high pressure gas to the local utility. again is runs perpendicular to the road, not with the road.


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