Work is well underway in Independence Township on Consumers Energy’s West Oakland Pipeline.
The 23.4-mile pipeline runs locally through Independence and Springfield townships. Phase I began in Independence this past May.
‘We formed an agreement with Liberty Golf Course that work on the pipeline there will wait until after the golf season,? said Debra Dodd, media representative with Consumers Energy.
The portion of the pipeline through Independence Township is paralleling already existing DTE Energy electric lines on a maintained easement.
According to a fact sheet from Dodd, the project became a necessity due to an increase in deman for natural gas in southeast Michigan, particularly in Oakland County where the current supply is not adequate. The current 22-inch pipeline was installed in 1951 and is reaching capacity.
The fact sheet states, ‘Approximately 300,000 natural gas customers in Oakland County and southeastern Michigan will benefit from construction of the West Oakland Pipeline.?
At this time, travelers driving along I-75 and residents in the Chestnut Hills subdivision can get a great view of the work.
However, not everyone is happy about that.
Woodcrest Ridge resident Phil Dutton said he understands Consumers needs to do the work, but wishes the company was more accommodating to area property owners.
‘I feel they didn’t try to layout the pipeline to minimize the damage to property owners along the easement,? he said. ‘Instead, I feel like they maximized the damage.?
Dutton said he was contacted by Consumers Energy through a letter in January concerning landscaping in his back yard. Dutton had a row of hedging and a couple trees on the easement being used for the pipeline.
‘I moved here in 1988 and the easement was already there,? Dutton explained. ‘There was a verbal agreement with the association and the property owners that we could put landscaping there.?
Dutton said James F. Ison, a right-of-way specialist with Consumers, contacted him in April to discuss which plants would need removing. In May, Mr. Dutton said he was again contacted by Ison, who brought an arborist to review the area.
‘At that time he (Mr. Ison) said I should not have planted on the easement,? said Dutton. ‘They told me the pipeline has to be clear 71 feet from the center of the electric poles.?
Dutton said on June 6 his landscaping was removed. He did add that Consumers has remained right within the easement and not entered his property.
‘I feel they owe the property owners to put it (the land) back as close to the way it was before,? said Dutton. ‘They need to repair the damage.?
Chestnut Hills Association Treasurer Gerald Warden confirmed the easement through the development is long standing. He added that as far as he was aware, Mr. Dutton was the only resident voicing complaints about the work.
‘They are well within their rights to do what they’re doing,? he stated. ‘Most residents aren’t pleased, but they understand the company can use the easement.?
Dodd said Consumers Energy will restore the easement.
‘We are committed to coming back and restoring the site no more than two weeks after the pipe is down,? she said. ‘We are adamant about that.?
Restoring the site includes grading the land, filling in any lost ground with the proper soil and seeding the area. Dodds said any trees or bushes would not be replaced.
‘Trees , shrubbery and such can’t be replaced because of the pipeline. Everything has to be 75 feet away from it,? she stated. ‘Also, residents cannot put in trees and shrubbery because of the pipeline there now.?
Phase II of the project, which will go through Springfield Township and some wetland areas, is scheduled to begin the summer of 2008.