Category Archives: Business Value
Pipeline Easements
Pipeline Easements
Pipelines transport products from one point to another. Pipeline title is usually
acquired through an easement. According to Websters, an easement “is the right a property owner grants to another for the use of their property”.
Therefore, a pipeline easement is the right to construct, operate, and maintain a pipeline over the land of others within prescribed geographical limits.
How to Appraise a Pipeline involving a Pipeline Easement
There are two different ways to appraise a pipeline depending on if it is part of a transportation corridor or within a conforming parcel.
Reviewing published articles and books, interviewing buyers and sellers of property that is encumbered by pipelines, and sending out letters to property owners are all methods that can help when appraising pipeline.
No Acceptable Standard Width for a Pipeline Easement
There is no acceptable standard width for a pipeline easement. It is usually determined through negotiations. Initially, railroads arrived at the easement width by rounding up the diameter of the pipe to the nearest foot, then adding two feet on both sides as a buffer to ensure the pipeline’s integrity and security. But, railroads soon realized that pipeline users were getting free access onto their corridors to service and maintain pipelines, so they reasoned that since automobile lanes on public roads are typically 11 to 12-feet wide, and the width of a standard truck is 8 feet 2 ½ inches, a 10 to 12-foot width requirement to access pipelines seemed reasonable.
Pipeline Easements and Severance Damage
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