EQT, Monroe County Couple locked in battle over interstate pipeline project

A couple of weeks back, Gazette-Mail reported that Bryan and Doris McCurdy, a Monroe County couple, were locked in legal battle with EQT, a pipeline company over an interstate pipeline project. According to initial reports, the pipeline would pass through the property Bryan and Doris McCurdy have called home for more than 30 years. The proposed pipeline is a steel pipe that can carry 2 billion cubic feet of gas each day. The pipeline would be buried just above the couple’s house and freshwater spring. Though, this is just one of the many concerns the couple has.

In addition to being buried just above their house and freshwater spring, the pipeline would run down the hillside and halve the picturesque meadows and hayfields. Moreover, it would go through the grave site of Tessa, a cat the couple owned and loved. Bryan and Doris McCurdy have feared the above ever since they found out that a 42-inch gas pipeline would be laid through their home and nearby land.

As soon as they found out that their house and nearby land would be inspected for a proposed pipeline, the couple started consulting lawyers, addressing county commissioners and visiting courts in the county to ensure that the proposed pipeline didn’t become a reality. In doing so, the couple got thrust into the center of a pipeline debate. Right now, they are locked in a legal battle with EQT, the company looking to lay the pipeline, over the instate pipeline project.

Less than a week after Donald Trump got elected as President, the Supreme Court of West Virginia ruled in the couple’s favor. The ruling stated that without the permission of the property owner, EQT and other similar companies planning interstate pipelines cannot survey land. Environmentalists and property rights groups welcomed the opinion of the Supreme Court. On the other hand, gas companies saw this as a legal setback as of late they had become powerful players in West Virginia politics.

In 2016, gas companies lobbied to change the law that saw the couple get the ruling in their favor. The lobbying was unsuccessful as the industry backed legislation was defeated in the state Senate. However, rumors are rife that the gas companies are looking to resurrect the bill that would overturn the ruling given in the couple’s favor. According to Natalie Cox, EQT’s spokesperson, the gas company will decide whether to ask state lawmakers to overturn the legal ruling in the next few days. However, she made it clear that the company’s plan to start the $3.5 billion project won’t be affected by the opinion of the court.

If you face the same issues as the Monroe Couple, you can contact Heavens law firm to present your case in court and prevent your home and nearby estate from becoming commercial or company owned land. Heavens law firm has over twenty years of legal experience and can help you to get the ruling in your favor.