Out Standing in His Field - Concerns of a Rural Landowner
By Glenn Archambault

I live on a ranch in Southwest Oregon that has a high-pressure natural gas pipeline running through it. For years I have been involved with many issues regarding the safety of this pipeline, all of which have heightened my concern for pipeline safety in general. Recently while looking out past my flock of lambs at the beautiful countryside I grew concerned how coming changes to that countryside could undermine pipeline safety.

Measure 37 was recently passed by voters here in my state of Oregon. The measure undid nearly forty years of land use planning that had been geared at protecting farm and forest land from development. Under the new statewide policy owners of farms and forestland must either be given the right to divide their land and sell it for home sites, or the government must pay them for the difference in potential property value. The demand for 1-10 acre sites is tremendousÊwith prices running in the $100,000 to $300,000 range. So what does this have to do with pipelines?

Under the old land use policy many pipelines where constructed across farm fields and forestland. The pipeline operators and government felt this was a good safety policy because Oregon had been committed to land use policy that kept development off these types of rural lands. This meant that people were safer because few people lived near the pipelines, and because of this low population densityÊthe pipelines could be constructed more economically to the lowest standards allowed.

With passage of Measure 37 that may all change as more and more people flock to live in rural areas. Invariably, without some quick consideration from state and local government, housing will soon begin to encroach on existing pipelines. With no laws governing how close one can build to a pipeline, this will put more people at risk, increase the probability of construction damage to pipelines, and force some pipeline operators to either reduce the pressure in their pipelines or upgrade the construction because of the higher population density.

People moving closer to what were once rural pipelines is a common problem across the country. Fortunately, what makes Oregon unique is that state and local governments still have time to work with pipeline operators and the public to decide how to ensure that potential buyers are aware of the pipelines, who informs the new landowners about issues regarding living near a pipeline, and how close to allow people to build near a pipeline.

Oregon has the chance to once again be a leader in land use, by developing policies the nation could adopt. Will they? I have been calling various agencies and pipeline companies trying to find out. Stay tuned.

For more information, follow the link below:
TRB Report
0825 CFER HCA Report
Model Setback Ordinance