Wolverine Pipe Line Company filed an Application with the Michigan Public Service Commission to obtain permission to build a new pipeline in Wayne and Washtenaw Counties.
Wolverine Pipe Line Company filed an application with the Michigan Public Service Commission (“MPSC”) to construct a new pipeline that appears for the most part to parallel an existing pipeline. An MPSC certificate is necessary for certain types of utility improvements and optional for others. If a certificate is obtained, a utility is granted the ability to use eminent domain to acquire necessary land and is excused from compliance with local zoning ordinances. The pipeline runs in a generally east to west direction through central Washtenaw County, south of Ann Arbor, into Wayne County.
The MPSC process is prolonged, meaning that Wolverine will not be serving good faith offers in the immediate future. However, that will not stop Wolverine from seeking to acquire property rights voluntarily while the certificate process is pending. Rover pipeline is doing exactly that while it follows the federal process that is the equivalent of obtaining an MPSC certificate.
To review the the certificate, click here. Aerial photographs depicting the route of the pipeline can be found starting on seventeenth physical (not numbered) page of the linked document.
If you have any questions relating to eminent domain matters such as pipeline acquisitions, please do not hesitate to contact me.