West Avenue Redo…

June 16th, 2014

Tree_Full

There’s a meeting about this Tuesday, 1:30 p.m., at City Hall Council Chambers.

Got the plans for the West Avenue redo:

Final Plan (part 1 of 3)

Final Plan (part 2b of 3)

Final Plan (part 3 of 3)

Posted by Carol A. Overland
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Pipeline doesn’t have easement! Must pay!

June 16th, 2014

pipeline

Not directly related, but the concept is for sure — Enbridge has been nailed for building a pipeline beyond what easement they had, and they are TRESSPASSING, and have to pay for the easement.  They won’t have to uproot the pipeline, but they do have to compensate the owners.  YES!

Here’s the scoop from the Duluth News Tribune:

Jury: Enbridge owes Douglas County family $150K for illegal pipelines

The six-member Douglas County jury found that the lines, installed in 2002 and 2009, are trespassing on land owned by Gerald and Barbara Engelking and their son, Jeremy.

For the Engelkings, it’s a significant victory after a prolonged battle with the multinational corporation.

“We’ve been going at this for 12 years with Enbridge, claiming that they’ve been trespassing on our land,” Gerald Engelking told the News Tribune. “Tonight, the court system has validated our claims.”

Enbridge attorney Joseph Mihalek indicated to the court that an appeal is likely to be filed. Outside the courtroom, he said he could not comment on his client’s matters.

The jury, which on Thursday issued a mixed ruling that left the judge and attorneys muddled, was called back Friday to provide further clarification and consider damages in the second phase of the trial.

Jurors determined that the three pipelines are, indeed, trespassing. The panel seemed to make that same ruling Thursday, but also ruled on another question: Workers were not trespassing when they cleared vegetation to make way for future lines.

The case has lingered in the court system for several years, the result of a dispute between Enbridge and the Engelkings over a 1949 easement agreement authorizing the installation of pipelines, signed by the previous owner of the land. Three lines installed under the agreement were not disputed.

Enbridge has since installed three more lines, claiming the agreement allowed for installation anywhere on the property. The Engelkings contended the agreement limited the company to a 50-foot corridor where the old lines are installed.

The dispute made national headlines in 2009 when Jeremy Engelking was arrested and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct after confronting pipeline workers who were on his property without authorization. Those charges were later dismissed.

Friday’s verdict made it clear that jurors agreed with the Engelkings.

Kevin Sandstrom, the Engelkings’ attorney, argued to jurors that Enbridge overstepped its authority by installing the new lines against the wishes of the landowners. He noted that Enbridge may attempt to install additional lines with its proposed Sandpiper project.

“Where is Enbridge going to stop?” he asked jurors. “It doesn’t seem that they’ll ever stop. And what would be the result? They will take over the entirety of the Engelkings’ property with oil pipelines.”

Sanderson asked jurors to award nearly $300,000 in damages, calculating “rent” payments based on the rate Enbridge paid a neighboring property owner for land use.

Mihalek told jurors, based on assessments of the land with and without the pipelines, the true value of damages suffered by the Engelkings amounted to about $4,000.

He noted that the family has not developed the land in nearly four decades of ownership, nor have they ever rented the land to anybody. The land has been used almost exclusively for recreational purposes.

“Adding three more pipelines underground did not in any way deprive them of the full use and possession of that property as they used it for 38 years,” he argued. “They can speculate about what they might do in the future to develop it, and how that might affect their development, but the fact of the matter is they’ve never done it and they have no plans to do it.”

The jury’s verdict awarded $100,000 to Gerald and Barbara Engelking, and $50,000 to Jeremy Engelking.

The jury was also asked to advise the court on whether Enbridge should be required to remove the three trespassing lines. The members answered “no” to separate questions about removing the 2002 and 2009 installations.

Earlier in the day, Enbridge construction services manager Lloyd Mott testified that it would cost about $7.2 million to move the pipeline. Sandstrom said Enbridge could afford that, noting that the company brought in about $25 billion in revenue last year.

The Engelkings said they were not too concerned that the jury did not grant all of their damages requests. The trespassing finding was far more important, they agreed.

“The issue of trespassing is resolved, pending an appeal,” Gerald Engelking said. “This is what we were looking for.”

 

Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Energy, Pipelines
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ALJ Lipman recommends the Enbridge pipeline expansion

June 12th, 2014

Quick post here of Judge Lipman’s recommendation — there are 15 days now to get exceptions filed with PUC, and then it goes to the full Public Utilities Commission for deliberation and a decision:

Recommendation – Enbridge Pipeline Expansion — PUC Docket 13-153

Posted by Carol A. Overland
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For sale: Two of my favorite houses in Red Wing

June 12th, 2014

I spend a lot of time checking out real estate, even more than dogs on Petfinder!  Back when I was first looking for a house in Red Wing, there was an abandoned house with little trees coming up in the gutters, pieces of the house falling off, it was grey and neglected, and accordingly, CHEAP!  Bluff in the back, the city golf course in front, so not much in the way of neighbors.  Way out of my price range, but a deal for whoever bought it.  Well, they did, and they’ve brought it back and more, it’s beautiful now (though the living room is still too dark, and priced accordingly:

1622 Spruce Street, Red Wing

1622Spruce

And another favorite, right on the corner of 7th and West:

706 East Avenue

That church that was so beautifully redone on 7th and Bush sold in a matter of days.  Time to get our house on 8th Street fixed and sold!

Posted by Carol A. Overland
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Creutzfeld-Jakob variant – 4th declared case

June 6th, 2014

CJv_F1.large

Mad cow, BSE, sheep scrapie, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk… this type of disease is not nearly as rare as they’d like us to believe… are people paying attention?  Meat eaters?  Hunters?

Health officials confirm Texas death as fourth case of mad-cow related disease

Links for details about Creutzfeld-Jakob variant:

CDC’s vCJD Fact Sheet

WHO Creutzfeld-Jakob variant page

Chronic wasting disease in deer has been found in Minnesota, not far from here:

Chronic Wasting Disease in Minnesota Deer

se-mn-map

Mandatory testing of deer is required in DNR Permit Area 602:

CWD_dpa602

 

Posted by Carol A. Overland
Filed in Disasters, Other
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