A hearing is being held this week in Harrisburg for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to consider granting public utility status to Laser Marcellus Gathering Co. LLC, which plans to build and operate Pennsylvania’s portion of a natural gas pipeline linking gas wells in Susquehanna County with the Millennium interstate pipeline in Broome County, N.Y.
If Laser Marcellus receives the status, it would enable the company to obtain property through eminent domain.
The proceeding before Public Utility Commission Administrative Law Judge Susan Colwell ended Monday with the parties having to file a “nonunanimous settlement” in a few weeks.
PUC spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher says those who favor the settlement will file statements in support, while opponents will file briefs on whatever issues remain. A final decision is expected sometime next year.
Attorney Deborah Goldberg of the Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice, was one of the lawyers who cross-examined Laser Marcellus’ witnesses on behalf of Montrose-area property owner Vera Scroggins, who has protested the application.
Earthjustice Spokeswoman Kathleen Sutcliffe said there are also other attorneys representing affected landowners who will question “as to whether the company should be given the power to seize land for an extensive pipeline system, with multiple compressor units, and, if so, what conditions should be placed on that power to protect public safety and the environment.”
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