Landowners Move Ahead Without Governor, Adopt Mutual Aid

Addison County, VT – Put off for yet another month by the governor, landowners are meeting today to initiate new self-help measures.  The property owners, from along the proposed Phase I and Phase II pipeline routes, from Williston and Saint George to Hinesburg, Monkton, Ferrisburgh, New Haven, Middlebury, Cornwall, and Shoreham, say time is running out for the governor and state agencies to stop enabling the predatory tactics of Vermont Gas Systems.

“Unfortunately, our state leaders don’t feel the same sense of urgency that we do about making sure that anything we sign with Vermont Gas leaves us safe in our homes and addresses the long-term impact of having this pipeline on our property,” said Selina Peyser, a homeowner in Monkton who is hosting the landowner meeting today.

In mid-September, landowners from four towns invited Governor Shumlin to come to Addison County and meet with them so that he and his agencies would understand the extent of the hidden costs incurred by landowners.  Three weeks later the governor responded with a letter reiterating his support for the pipeline and asking landowners to travel to Montpelier in the middle of November – close to two months after their request for a meeting.

The landowners have accepted the half-hour, late-date meeting but are wasting no time building mutual support networks.  Many landowners have not been able to get answers to questions or negotiate successfully with VGS.  They have little faith that state agencies are adequately overseeing VGS in the easement negotiation process.

“After observing how the Public Service Board and Department of Public Service have handled landowners’ legitimate concerns about Phase I of the project and the construction cost overruns, we think it’s obvious that landowners have no real rights at any stage of the process,” said Barbara Wilson, a landowner in Shoreham. “VGS is not held accountable for the accuracy of what they say or for how they treat landowners. They are no better than snake oil salesmen, promising cures and benefits that do not exist from their fracked gas potion. Their proposed easement terms do not in any way provide reasonable protections for landowners.”

It’s a one-sided process at every turn, say landowners. “ANR approves a soil management plan that employs dubious methodologies and a lab that isn’t fully accredited to test for contaminants that were found on the pipeline route,” said Melanie Peyser of Monkton, describing a relentless succession of the state’s alarming disregard for landowners’ concerns. “The DPS opposes intervention by any adverse party on the PSB’s docket to investigate why VGS didn’t notify the Board of the massive construction cost increases on Phase I. Now we’re waking up to the fact that even the offer of mediation is a trick and that the governor would rather spend funds on appraisals contracted by DPS than enable landowners to knowledgeably negotiate the terms of contracts by compensating them for legal expenses.”

Residents along the pipeline have been facing VGS predatory practices for close to two years. VGS recently hired a different team, which has resulted in even more aggressive tactics. VGS’ latest executive hire, Jim Sinclair, has been making obvious to landowners that the company is not “offering” or “making available” mediation as was widely reported in the media. Instead, VGS is offering an ultimatum: Participate in mediation or the company will file for condemnation via eminent domain. It doesn’t matter whether VGS has refused to answer simple questions for months or has repeatedly changed its position. The company is in a rush to come to agreement.

Landowners are faced with a fool’s dilemma:  Enter mediation alone, without a lawyer, where the pressure to sign an agreement will be greater than it’s ever been or hire a lawyer for mediation and then have no money left to defend themselves in an eminent domain proceeding if mediation fails. Either way, landowners know that the terms they agree to now will have permanent and binding implications.  The use of their property and the value of their land could be irreparably harmed and encumbered.

It need not be this way.  Other states provide information to landowners to help them prepare for negotiations. They also ensure that the utilities operating in their states comply with the law and professional standards. “DPS doesn’t even have a simple fact sheet explaining the elements of compensation to which landowners are entitled, so VGS omits mention of landowners’ entitlement to damages under Vermont law,” said Mary Martin from Cornwall. “Once pipeline construction begins on their property, it will be too late for landowners to find out about things like increased insurance premiums, liability for the spread of preexisting contaminants on their land, mortgage adjustment expenses, not to mention the decrease in value of property encumbered by and adjacent to a pipeline. Because the state is not fully informing landowners, they need a lawyer to help them get compensation for these things.”

At today’s meeting, the landowners will be sharing information, not offering legal advice. Their goal is to educate themselves before signing a binding easement and losing their property rights.  They’ve collected easement checklists and advice from experts around the country. “Vermont Gas tries to make it sound like we are making up stuff or simply don’t understand the easement agreements, but they’re wrong,” said Claire Broughton from Monkton. Diane Derrick of Hinesburg added, “We know a lot more than they think we do, and we also know that it’s completely reasonable to want a lawyer in the room and to expect the people who foisted this project on us against our will to pay for our expenses. I’ve gotten a lot of good information from our landowner meetings, and I’m glad to see the enthusiasm from people all along the route to learn to protect themselves.”

Landowners will be on the State House Lawn on October 27th for the rally against the pipeline, and they’re also considering other avenues for defending their rights. “As Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.’ I hope that Governor Shumlin realizes that it’s time to wise up and rally his administration behind the public good, which can only be served when all members of the public have the same rights to due process and are equal before the law,” said Jane Palmer from Monkton.  “We’ve learned how VGS operates, and we’ve wised up.  It’s time that the governor listened to and acted on this alarming situation. If he can’t meet with us for another month, he’ll have to hear it from us today, next week, and at every chance we get until the problems are solved.”