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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 11, 2013 11:06 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Phyllis Mundy |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Reintroduction of Legislation: Prohibiting gathering line companies from obtaining public utility status (Formerly HB 1796 of the 2011-2012 Legislative Session) |
| I will soon reintroduce legislation to prohibit gathering line companies from obtaining public utility status. Over the past two years, natural gas gathering line companies hailing from Texas have applied to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) for certificates of public convenience so that they could operate as public utilities within Pennsylvania. Had these certificates been granted, these companies would have been able to seize land through eminent domain for construction of their pipelines, setting a dangerous precedent for other companies to follow. These companies would have been able to utilize the power of eminent domain to circumvent discussions and negotiations with homeowners on the issues of land easements and property and mineral rights. While these companies eventually ended up withdrawing their applications from the PUC, the General Assembly should still take immediate action to ensure that no gathering line company is able to obtain the power of eminent domain in Pennsylvania. My legislation would explicitly prohibit gathering line companies from becoming public utilities, as they clearly do not operate with the public’s best interests in mind. As PUC Commissioner, James H. Cawley, once stated, “The Public Utility Code must be strictly construed when pipelines are involved because a certificate also confers the power of eminent domain, which upsets the negotiating balance between landowners and pipeline operators over rights-of-way or easements, with grave implications for the individual Pennsylvanians and their communities given the enormity of shale gas extraction under way in the state. The upset of this balance is not in the public interest...” PRIOR CO-SPONSORS: Briggs, Boback, Daley, Fabrizio, Hornaman, Kortz, Mirabito, Mullery, Murphy, Pashinski, and Schroder |
Introduced as HB696