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Judge sides against landowner in Northern Access Pipeline case

For months, a Sardinia landowner has fought against National Fuel gaining rights to access her land

A state judge has sided with National Fuel in granting the company the right to access a Sardinia landowner's property in order to build a massive, 97-mile natural gas pipeline from northern Pennsylvania through Western New York.

In the ruling last week, Judge John O'Donnell says National Fuel "has complied with the procedural requirements of the New York Eminent Domain Procedure Law."

Last year, 2 On Your Side interviewed Lia Oprea about her opposition to the pipeline and her fight against National Fuel. 

At the time, she said, "It's exhausting on a person-by-person basis," (...) "It's been crazy, it started before the eminent domain, the research, the figuring out, what our landowner rights were," and that, "If we sign that eminent domain, that's basically signing away the creek for us, Cattaraugus Creek, it's a water issue for us, as well as, historic, family, nostalgia." 

Since then, National Fuel has taken Oprea and other landowners to court, arguing that the company wants to build the pipeline to get more natural gas to market. 

In April of last year, the Department of Environmental Conservation denied National Fuel required water permits to build the pipeline -- saying in part -- the project would negatively affect water quality and wildlife. 

Richard Lippes, an attorney for Oprea told 2 On Your Side by phone: "our position was why should national fuel be allowed to involuntarily for my client take an easement when they don't have approval for the pipeline itself."

One Judge O'Donnell's ruling, Lippes says: "the order was somewhat surprising in that the appellate division in another case the Schueckler case we call it was decided exactly opposite to what the judge's order indicates."

Last month, the state Appellate Division ruled that National Fuel cannot access the land of Joe and Theresa Schueckler in Clarksville, Allegany County by eminent domain, in hopes of building the pipeline.

The court ruled that a corporation cannot take away privately owned land when a project cannot be lawfully built.

The order further states that: "Thus, when the public project cannot be legally completed, any eminent domain power in connection with that project is necessarily extinguished," and that, "To say otherwise would effectively give a condemnor the power to condemn land in the absence of a public project, and that would violate the plain text of the State Constitution."

National Fuel says it's appealing this decision. 

On Oprea's case, she says she plans to appeal to a higher court.

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