Jan 30, 2016
NEW MILFORD, PA - Constitution Pipeline Company received federal
permission to cut trees Friday afternoon on properties in Susquehanna County,
including those obtained by eminent domain condemnation and through a
commercial maple syrup operation.
A partial Notice to Proceed with non-mechanized tree cutting was
issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday afternoon for the
Pennsylvania portion of the Constitution Pipeline. Tree cutting is imminent and
can begin any time during daylight hours today through March 31, the deadline
set by FERC.
The Constitution Pipeline is a project of Williams Pipeline
Companies and Cabot Oil & Gas to be used to transport shale gas
obtained through the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing, or
“fracking”. The right of way would be at least 100-ft wide, with additional
intermittent 50ft wide workspaces and access roads.
One New Milford family, led by Catherine Holleran and her
daughter, Megan Holleran, have opposed eminent domain condemnation of an access
road, an additional workspace, and more than 1,670 linear feet of their own
property, which is used for maple syrup production by their family business,
North Harford Maple.
Megan Holleran said, “This is our land and family business. The pipeline has been years in permitting and we just staged our equipment to set up for this year’s syrup production. If they cut the trees now, they would destroy our equipment and that’s criminal. That’s property destruction. We asked them to speak with our attorney before cutting and that hasn’t happened yet. I’m ready to stop them by standing in the right of way if they try.”
Megan Holleran said, “This is our land and family business. The pipeline has been years in permitting and we just staged our equipment to set up for this year’s syrup production. If they cut the trees now, they would destroy our equipment and that’s criminal. That’s property destruction. We asked them to speak with our attorney before cutting and that hasn’t happened yet. I’m ready to stop them by standing in the right of way if they try.”
In February 2015, federal judge
Malachy Mannion in Scranton ordered that the Holleran property and several
others in Susquehanna County be condemned using eminent domain for the private
use of Constitution Pipeline Company. No construction activities proceeded
after that, as state and federal agencies extended their reviews of
archaeology, impacts on endangered species, and wetlands.
In a cease and desist letter served on the
company by the Holleran family on Friday, Catherine Holleran wrote, “We assert our
Fourth Amendment rights, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, that we must
receive compensation before eminent domain condemnation. As compensation
hearings have yet to be held, we find any action to develop our property to be
unconstitutional. We hope that your client will proceed with good faith
negotiations with our counsel prior to any tree cutting, especially given their
affinity for the name ‘Constitution Pipeline’.”
LOCATION: 2131 Three Lakes Road, New Milford, PA USE COORDINATES: 41.8272387, -75.7585062
