We knew it would come to this. MLive is reporting today that Rover is suing landowners in Washtenaw over their right to survey. This is a matter we discussed in some detail months ago.
Rover’s actions here are bad enough: they continue to fail to cultivate good relations with landowners in Michigan. Just as bad, however, is Michigan attorney John DeVries, who seems to want to pretend that there is something unusual here, that landowners who are refusing to grant permission are extremists and outliers:
DeVries said the cases are a rarity in his career of about 40 years working on about 20 pipeline projects.
“This is the first time, on one pipeline project of many that I’ve worked on, where surveyor permission had been denied,” DeVries said.
Frankly, we’re not buying it. Either that or none of those “20 pipeline projects” are projects from the 21st century.
It is so shortsighted for any official to make such silly assertions concerning landowners rights to protect their land. The officials need to back the citizens who pay their wages and serve the best interests of those citizens. The truth will win out and the officials will look like they were doing the bidding of the big companies. Which they are. You can’t live in rural America and think that the citizens won’t remember your bad judgement concerning the care of the land and people you swore to uphold.
My grandmother is 91 years old. Second generation on a two hundred year old farm in West Virginia and being harassed by this company. They trespass on her land every week despite her attempts at telling them not to. She has been a law abiding, tax paying, hard working citizen of this country her whole life. Shame on Rover. The end her life should be one of joy and peace with the celebration of her first great- great grandchild born this year but instead it is plagued by this company and it’s employees on her property weekly without permission!!!!!