Question on having a pipeline in the backyard
 

We are looking at and considering a piece of property to buy. One of the concerns (there are always some concerns aren't there?) is the existence of a petroleum pipeline.

I have contacted Magellan about specifics to the pipeline (no response to date) but wanted to ask some of the experts on board.

As near as I can tell from internet searches this line is used for non-HVL only.

How big of an issue should I consider this pipeline? What are the parameters in which it should be considered unsafe? What rational fears should I have if any?

If this were a gas line we would not continue looking at the property due to my own irrational fears of large gas transfer lines.

What say ye?

Here is what I asked Magellan:

1. As an average or specifically to this location, how deep is the line buried?

2. Non-Highly Volatile is broad, can you provide a better description as to what is being transported? (sweet crude, salt water, etc)

3. How close can building encroach to the line? I believe it is standard for 25 feet. What if a building/structure is closer to the line than your encroachment limit?

4. This land requires some erosion control measures to be implemented due to the addition of a new structure. How close can heavy equipment operate to the line? What is the load limit?

5. What is the age of the line?

6. What is the safety record of this line?

7. What hazards can you provide in association with living near this line?

8. Is there a continuing payment to the surface or mineral rights owner of this property?

Am I missing any other questions?

They likely have an easement through the property, should be marked on current plot plans. In nj, we can also get a copy from local county clerks office. They can (and probably will) install more lines in that easement, you cannot dig, install structures, or cross with heavy equipment.

We have developed a few properties with pipelines and easements. Pipeline co will have to approve plans, won't allow placement of anything over the easement, and if you want to cross the easement (in our case, electric and natural gas service lines) they had to be in conduit, encased by concrete, and go beneath the pipeline. They have made us either mound soil or place concrete pads over their easement for construction equipment to cross.

I've seen them anywhere from 24" to 12' deep. And every 6-7 years, around here anyway, they dig and install another pipe, along side the existing lines.

What's the OD of the line? The wall thickness? What was the origin of the pipe (producer/country) and by what method was it manufactured (seamless, DSAW, ERW, etc.)? This stuff matters.

There are lots and lots of pipelines underground in the US.
Here are most of the major ones, but the smaller ones would almost color the map solid.
Personally I wouldn't give it a second thought.



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Check the easement carefully. My friend had an easement for a line going across the back of his lot. The line itself wasn't a problem, it was at the back of the property and out of the way. But the easement included access from the street to the line in case they needed to get to it for repairs or upgrades or whatever. So there is a strip of property he can't build or plant on and every 10 years or so they tear up part of his lot going to the line to work on it.

I've lived next door to one for 18 years. No issues, once a month they fly a helicopter down the line to look for leaks. No idea what's in it, nor does it concern me.

JR

You might not, but around here it's a hit in value. People still remember the Edison explosion in NJ, over 20 years ago.

He was shootin at some food, and up through the ground came a bubblin crude.....oil that is !

There's a pipeline easement behind my house (over 100' away) and I don't give it second thought. There's always stuff like this though:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_San_Bruno_pipeline_explosion

Thanks guys! Yep, property value hit (which I pass on to seller right now) and verification of where the buildings sit in relation to the pipeline. I am worried that two structures encroach. One I can move with my equipment, one is a permanent hardstand which can only be rectified through destructive force.

It's there, and has been for a long time. Don't give it a second thought.

The first thing I would do is find out how much of the property is encumbered by an easement. You can contact the pipeline owners to see if they’ll mark the easement boundaries. My agency has a full time survey crew and we do this for free as we think it’s in everyone’s best interest to know where the easement is.
The second thing I would do is get a copy of the actual easement document and see what the restrictions are.
I work for a water agency that has 100s of miles of pipelines going through private property from 48” to 118” diameter.
Easement language varies widely but just for an example, here are what we consider “prohibited uses”:


(a) Use of Agency right of way by any person except the Agency or the
Agency’s officers, employees, agents or contractors for Agency purposes is prohibited
except as otherwise authorized by this chapter. Whenever an exemption or exception from the
provisions or requirements of this chapter is claimed by any person under the terms of a
franchise, agreement, deed, statute, governmental regulation or legal ground the burden shall be
on the person claiming the exemption to establish the authority, scope and extent of the
exemption to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency.

(b) The following detrimental uses are prohibited in Agency’s rights of way;

1. Telecommunication antennas or towers, or satellite dishes on permanent
foundations, except receive-only or “ham” radio antenna of the owner property
subject to Agency right of way;

2. Any use or structure that blocks or restricts free Agency access to a right of
way, work or facility;

3. Encroachment by a building, any portion of a building, a building foundation, or
any part of a foundation or anything supported by a slab or a footing;

4. Electric fencing;

5. Gates or access barriers made of cable, rope, chain, barbed or ribbon wire;

6. Swimming pools, ponds, spas or hot tubs, and other similar structures;

7. Retaining walls, structural walls or walls containing mortar or reinforcement bar;

8. Private sewage treatment systems including septic tank and leach field systems;

9. Dumping, depositing, casting, placing, or stockpiling any waste, rock, dirt or
other materials, including without limitation, abandoned vehicles;

10. Dumping, depositing, casting, placing, handling, stockpiling or storing of
hazardous, toxic or explosive materials;

11. Corrals or pens for animals except as allowed under section 7.00.050 (b) 12;

12. Water wells;

13. Water tanks;

14. Water pipeline valves, thrust blocks, backflow preventers, and flow sensors,
except as specifically authorized by the Agency when no alternate location
outside of the Agency 's right of way is feasible;

15. Fertilizer injection systems;

16. Apiaries, whether permanent or temporary;

17. Unrestrained dogs, horses, cattle or other animals that are not under the immediate
physical control of the owner;

18. Utility pole anchors;

19. Columns made of concrete, concrete block, rock or any combination of these;

20. Solar electrical generation or water heating systems, including solar panels.

(c) No person shall install, construct, or maintain, or cause to be installed, constructed
or maintained any parallel utility in the Agency 's right of way except as otherwise specifically
authorized pursuant to this chapter.

(d) No person shall trespass on the Agency 's right of way or property in violation of
any sign prohibiting trespass.

(e) No person shall damage, deface, destroy, modify, alter or mark any Agency
facility or work except as otherwise specifically authorized pursuant to this chapter.

(f) No person shall grade, dig, excavate, fill, or trench any Agency right of way
except as otherwise specifically authorized pursuant to this chapter.

(g) Any encroachment or use done, constructed, installed, or maintained in violation
of any subdivision of this section is a public nuisance and may be abated pursuant to this chapter
or other law. The General Counsel is authorized to enforce this section by civil action to enjoin
or abate a public nuisance.

(h) No person shall blast within 400 feet of an Agency facility, except as
specifically permitted by the Agency and subject to all applicable State and local laws.

It would be helpful to know the age of the pipeline and what classification spec was used when it was installed. We are having a problem here in the Kingdom with classifications. Meaning we have pipelines that were installed to one spec (lower wall thickness) and then people moved into the area and that wall thickness is no longer considered safe.

If your house is as old or older than the pipeline, then no worries. Typically, pipelines nowadays are equipped with leak detection, cathodic protection, fusion bond epoxy external coating etc. Very safe. It's cheaper in the long run to make it safe rather than clean up a mess with their associated lawsuit payouts.

Look at it the other way, what benefit does the pipeline bring you? None, I'd think. Except a lower price. But the lower price to you reflects the property's lower value, and will be reflected in the lower price you'll get when you try to sell the property. Unless there is something uniquely desirable about this property, or it is the only one you can find, I'd tend to shy away.

On the question of future marketability of the property, whether that would be affected would depend on where the property is situated. In Texas, it might be less of an issue than in some other states. Certainly, in my home province, in rural properties, pipelines are pretty routine.

That said, as well as researching the physical aspects of the pipeline, you will want to to do a careful review of the easement document, with your attorney. Some easements, called easements in gross, don't specify what specific part of the property is subject to it, and can be a problem. You will want to know what you can and can't do on your property, relative to the easement.

Good luck.

all things being equal, why bother?
me? i prefer my backyard to be pipeline-free.
: )