Power lines on road ROW 1

[gobblerhuntr]

Does anyone know where to go to look up the state law for placing utility lines along a county right of way? I am in Tennessee. I have a customer that is arguing that we have no right to run a line down the side of the road in front of his property even if we stay on the county road right of way. County ROW not State.

This is not a tech. question but is for sure one I need some help on this.

 

[itsmoked]

I am not sure but would presume the property owner is S.O.L.

It might be nice to offer him the possibility of underground and he pays the difference rather than having a really mad person out in the country with your equipment for the next 20 years.

Others will have a better understanding of the process for you.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[gobblerhuntr]

The property owner that is giving the problem lives in the next county over and rarely goes down there. He is also not the one wanting power and doesn't even ever want power down there on his land.

I think he is SOL also but can't find the law to prove it.

 

[itsmoked]

I wonder if your road department could shed some light on the subject. I bet they have had these kinds of cases many times before.

How did the whiner, (which he is sounding like if this isn't blocking his view), find out about the coming line?

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[gobblerhuntr]

Road commissioner, no help, he says go ahead and run it on the ROW, can't produce the law.

The whiner, doesn't want us clearing trees and limbs that hang over the road. He came up on the job when it was under construction. One thing we did wrong was not talk to him before hand.

 

[tinfoil]

I would expect that the county has a clear title to a ROW for its road.

Generally, the county in turn can grant easements along such ROWs to essential services, so long as the utility plant owner applies for and receives 'municipal consent' from the county (said consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, assuming all technical requirements are met)

There is probably a specific law to this effect in each state.

You could ask this guy:

Joe Shaw
Tennessee DOT
Utilities Office
615-741-2891
joe.shaw@state.tn.us

 

[waross]

Ask him to produce a law that prohibits you from running the line.
respectfully

 

[ccjersey]

I believe you could get an easement across his property by eminent domain if you had good reason to cross it. Of course, in this case, it would make a bad situation worse to start talking along those lines. It won't help in this case either, but some good long power outages usually make for more cooperative property (tree) owners.

 

[gobblerhuntr]

For those that it might help here is what I found in the TN code annotated.



65-22-103. Wires, conduits, conductors, pipes, and pipelines.



Such corporation, after having first obtained permission from the governing authorities thereof, is invested with the privilege of extending and placing its electric wires, conduits, conductors, pipes, and pipelines along, through, or upon all or any of the streets, lanes, and alleys of the cities, towns, and villages in which it may operate; and in, through, and along any and all of the roads and public highways of the counties, for the purpose of supplying electricity, or electric or mechanical power to the inhabitants thereof for heat, light, manufacturing, domestic, or sanitary or other purposes; and for such purposes it may make any and all necessary excavations in and along the same after first obtaining permission from the governing authorities of the incorporated cities, towns, and villages, and when outside of any incorporated towns, of the governing authority of the county in which same is located; but all excavation shall be made in such manner as to give the least inconvenience to the public, and shall be replaced with all possible speed by and at the expense of the corporation in as substantial manner as found before being excavated.

 

[wbd]

Based on gobblerhuntr post, I would say the landowner is definitely SOL.

 

[byrdj]

Gobblerhuntr, You didn't state if you worked for an Utility or a private company.
If Utility, contact legal depart. I'm sure they will have a legal, recorded in the court house, right of way. (I had to provide such a "deed" to get power lines run to the house. The recorded easements for the state road right allow the state to grant easements.

But if you are a private company, He might be right. I had a co worker stop a city annexation water sewer dig for a month while they accured the proper easements. The city assumed they had ROW, but legally didn't.

 

[gobblerhuntr]

Contact our legal dept. is basically a joke. We are a very small town and our legal consist of 1 lawyer that is appointed by our city board and you can imagine the quality and quanity that we get outta that.

I do work for a utility and this road is a county road not a state one. The state said the same as you that if it was theirs we could do whatever they permitted us to.

I talked to the person this morning and told him the law and gave him a link to it so the ball is in his court now.

We will see what happens.

 

[wbd]

Keep us posted, as I'm sure there are many like me who work in a small utility. Many of us don't have a legal department but depend on a contracted lawyer for legal advice.

 

[BJC]

You can read deeds at the court house. If it's got an easement it will say on the deed.
Easements can be not so straight forward.
Engineers do engineering and lawyers do easments. No matter what you do sooner or later the property owner will not take your word for it and want to hear it from a lawyer. You might as well go hire one.

 

[gobblerhuntr]

Looks as if it is all worked out, I called the property owners with the law and he agreed that we had the right and let us go ahead and run it. We bartered on a few things but in the end everyone is happy. I am glad this one is over.

 

[byrdj]

Glad to here utility worked with him.

 

[itsmoked]

"bartered" what?

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[gobblerhuntr]

Bartered: The customer was not wanting us to run down the road ROW due to some overhanging tree limbs that created a canopy over the road that he liked, also we had placed two anchors and guys in a ditch bank on the side of the road that he didn't want either, so we got off the ROW with a pole in order to bypass the tree limbs and take one of the guys completly out.

 

[itsmoked]

Cool. Nice that an accord could be met. Leaves you with a non-disgruntled.

Thanks.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[EEJaime]

You "got off the ROW"? Does that mean you set the pole on someone's property without an easement? That might be much more troublesome in the future than a few tree limbs would be. I would venture that on the County Tax Assessor's plat maps, all public ROW easements are recorded. Glad it all worked out, hope that it stays that way.