Just when the disheartening spectacle of snow in late April threatened to extinguish the last remaining shred of hope that springtime in Michigan would ever return, we experienced this afternoon what for months has seemed an impossible fantasy, nothing more than a (ahem) pipe dream: a view of our backyard utterly free of visible green steel pipe. It’s true! Just look:
Of course, there’s still the orange fence and the shredded remains of our beloved trees and the big yellow tractor-things and all the piles of timber and the mud…. But hey, we’re trying to look on the bright side: the steel pipe is gone!
Let us know how well they finish up . Best wishes
Can I ask what this line has done to your property value or resale value? We are in the midst of bargaining with enbridge right now. I’ve talked with 3 state appraisers that say the value will drop drastically which scares me to death. But the line coming through our property is only 10 FEET FROM OUR FOUNDATION!!!!!!!!
What is your attorney doing? Have you sent a letter directly to the Michigan Public Service Commission, the Governor, your state and federal representatives? If not you don’t have much support. Most people cannot deal with Enbridge by themselves, and many attorneys do not have significant experience in pipeline right-of-way easement negotiations. I’m not blaming the victim, but where were the anguished cries before now? Did you believe the letter you received? What is happening with your neighbors? Have you talked with them and joined together to face off with Enbridge? They are excellent at divide and conquer, and will include in any agreement a “non-disclosure” clause that threatens all kinds of malign things. Check with Jeff.
Where do you live and what lines are currently on your property: existing 6B and/or Vector natural gas line (or do you live far enough east that Vector is not in the right-of-way?)
Best Regards,
Hi Kym-
So sorry to hear about your situation. We have not really had our property appraised; its value is already way down just because of the Michigan market. I”m sure the pipeline doesn’t help. Have you contacted an attorney yet? My best advice is that you should definitely talk with one. If you send me an email I could make a recommendation. In my opinion, it is not good (or beneficial to the landowner) to go through this alone. Where are you located?
-Jeff
Just in case they may be of some (little) help… Enbridge originally wanted the first of one of our neighbors they were trying to conquer and divide us from to sign a non-disclosure agreement. We (the three adjoining neighbors) all appeared together at the very next meeting with the ROW agent and told them that none of us would sign a non-disclosure agreement. It never became an issue after that.
Subsequently, my ROW agent has told me that a non-disclosure is included as part of their “standard paperwork” within every landowner’s file, but isn’t required to be signed if there is an objection to it.
Chalk this up into the category of “Let’s try to get away with as much as we can, hoping the uninformed will sign” which is a subcategory of “Being ‘Neighborly'”. It occupies the space in the file immediately adjoining “Dual Sided Indemnification”.