Can Pipeline Companies Use Eminent Domain to Take Private Property?

The development of the Utica shale has led to the construction of numerous pipelines for the transportation of natural gas and other hydrocarbons in recent years, causing Ohio courts to address issues related to companies’ right to take private property. Ohio courts have held that natural gas liquids (NGLs) such as ethane, butane, and propane qualify as “petroleum” under Ohio Rev. Code § 1723.01, the statute that confers eminent domain authority on pipeline companies.

However, Ohio courts are unsettled regarding whether takings for pipelines carrying NGLs to private manufacturers serve a public use. In 2016 an Ohio court held that a pipeline carrying NGLs from a fractionation plant in Ohio to a cracker plant used for plastics manufacturing in Pennsylvania served a public use and thereby was able to utilize eminent domain. On the other hand, a different Ohio court held in 2016 that a pipeline carrying NGLs from a fractionation plant in Ohio to a plastics manufacturer in Ontario, Canada did not serve a public use and thereby was not able to utilize eminent domain.

If your property is in the path of a pipeline project, knowing whether or not the pipeline company has eminent domain authority for the project is essential to protecting your rights. That is why it is important to have an experienced eminent domain attorney on your side to assist you if you are affected by a pipeline project.