I believe this is Brad Ott's territory.
The picture looks like its mostly an archaeological crew perhaps?
yes, but if you watch the video, they are for sure surveyors.
gotcha. I'll watch the video later
I will admit I don't believe I have ever seen a survey crew outfitted in this manner. Something doesn't smell quite right.
Nevertheless, the citizens view the surveyors as demon spawn when all they are doing is gathering data for the ultimate client.
Ya got surveyors, and ya got land surveyors.
BlitzkriegBob, post: 431502, member: 9554 wrote: I believe this is Brad Ott's territory.
Did Brad move to Virginia?
very strange... all those people, look more like geologists to me. in the video, there's a few guys with RTK units, but they are all a hodge podge of equipment.
Andy J, post: 431518, member: 44 wrote: very strange... all those people, look more like geologists to me. in the video, there's a few guys with RTK units, but they are all a hodge podge of equipment.
That's what I'm seeing also....a bunch of sifters for relics, etc.....look like a bunch of button pushers to record evidence of artifacts, etc.
James Fleming, post: 431517, member: 136 wrote: Did Brad move to Virginia?
Ha! This came up on my feed of local news on my phone. I posted it before I read it, but I was thinking Franklin County, Indiana, not Virginia.
When anyone shows up to do something on private land it is an intrusion.
I have had to find ways to cross lakes, rivers, bogs and other places roads do not go because some land owner refuses for me to cross their land.
At the very least, the land owner should be receiving big money for them being there.
Call it the price of doing business.
These guys did show up in force and with gear to do environmental, site and other surveys while they were there.
On that level, it is part of the job.
There is a lot of money on the table.
I was amazed at what was paid per rod for recent cross country pipeline easements.
It looks like a bunch of geologists to me as well. Surveyor's for the most part are smart enough to know they have to contact the landowners first before trespassing.
I'm sure there's more to the story that we don't know about.
They are pipeline survey crews. In Virginia, surveyors do not have right of trespass, but with proper notice, pipeline surveyors do. These are landowners that have been trying to disrupt and stop a project from going through their lands and will eventually have the crews back on the property.
Glad I'm not in that part of the state.
Getting permissions to enter can sometimes be the hardest part of the job. It's one of the benefits of using a horse, almost no trace after I am gone. But I also don't survey for something that's about to put heavy machinery in their pasture digging a large trench that then will have people inspecting it constantly. I don't agree with paying entry fees for surveyors to enter, as climbing a fence to get to the section corner might become so cost prohibitive we can't keep our doors open. I do appreciate that so far it seems the survey crews in this deal have been level headed and not stirred up a fight, setting things back when the legislature goes to thinking about surveyors rights to work.
They want to plot a route that can be dug without blasting. Naturally it'll go thru the bottom land whenever possible. A crew of geologists with basic seismic equipment is most appropriate for such a study.
I don't think it's a seismic study that they are working on. It looks like an Archaeological study where they sift for relics to me We've had to do this on the majority of the natural gas pipelines that we've completed.
I worked on a gas pipeline survey crew for a couple years in the mid-80s. For the most part, we had little trouble because the land department (easement negotiators) had already contacted local owners and had determined routes of probable least resistance. Most folks started out NIMBY, but many moved to M(aybe)IMBY once they found out how much they would be paid for the easement.
On one farm, the only viable route went through a grove of mature black walnuts. The gas company agreed to pay him $10,000 for each tree that would have to be removed (and the farmer got to keep the wood). That guy was glad to see us when we arrived and was darn near helpful as he could be. For most, the money was enough for them to ignore us as we traversed through or to be minimally tolerant of us (i.e. putting the young bulls in the pasture they knew we were going to be in, "forgetting" to unlock gates on the day we were scheduled to be there, etc.).
I only recall one time in which we had anything resembling a threat. Our chief had instructions to call this particular landowner before entering the property (it was a private deer hunting preserve), which he did during lunch one day. This was a few years before survey crews had cell phones as standard equipment, and probably still when cell phones were still called "car phones" because the portable brick phones weren't yet available. Nevertheless, no cell coverage in this somewhat remote corner of MI at the time.
We were heading out to survey across the neighboring property and thought we would get to the preserve before the end of the day. The owner said to call "just before" coming on to the property. My chief was using the nearest public pay phone about 30 minutes drive from the preserve, so figured that this call counted as "just before" and suggested that when we get there, we'd just drive up to the main lodge to talk to the caretaker before starting any work. The landowner reportedly said in a matter of fact but otherwise non-threatening tone "I suggest that you first find a phone and call just prior to coming onto the land. Otherwise the caretaker will shoot you before you ever get near the lodge, and he doesn't miss."
Once he regained his momentarily shaken composure, the chief responded "Not a problem sir. I'll give you a call in the morning and we'll wait for your caretaker at the front gate in the morning." I was OK with it. Instead of working an extra long day, we stopped a little bit early that day. Next day, we had no trouble and the caretaker was as friendly as any landowner we had dealt with (other than the potato farmer with the several $10K walnut trees).
Back to the VA pipeline... a crew of 18 seems to be very excessive, especially with GPS. We worked in groups of 2, or sometimes 4 if needing to do a lot of brushing, and we were dragging chain. That looks to me like the gas company was expecting resistance and thought a show of big numbers might be intimidating enough that landowners would let them through rather than risk a confrontation. Might work sometimes. The gas company will almost certainly get a court order allowing them access (seems the law is on their side), but I applaud the landowners for not being intimidated. I think a strategy of gaining uncontested access by intimidation through numbers is BS and the company utilizing that tactic deserves to meet as much legal resistance and delay as can be put in their way. Having 18 field surveyors twiddling their thumbs for a few hours only to eventually have to go away had to be fairly expensive.
Better strategy: Have the RW negotiators meet with landowners first, offering them a fair price if the final route crosses their parcel. That takes care of 75% of potential problems by treating landowners fairly upfront or avoiding those who are vehemently opposed. Then when the surveyors arrive, treat the landowners as if they set the rules for their own land, granting access or not as they see fit (i.e. be respectful), give them a timeframe, promise to leave as little evidence of your passage as necessary, to close all gates behind you, and to not bother the livestock. Then keep your promises. That takes care of another 23% of potential problems. Leaving about 2% who put the ornery bulls in the pasture you're traversing through, "forget" to unlock gates, or plow out your stakes as soon as you leave. In the long run, works a lot better then bullying your way across the countryside.
VA LS 2867, post: 431526, member: 1444 wrote: Glad I'm not in that part of the state.
Atlantic Coast Pipeline is heading your way..I think they are planning to start ROW staking on July 15
James Fleming, post: 431540, member: 136 wrote: Atlantic Coast Pipeline is heading your way..I think they are planning to start ROW staking on July 15
Good thing I'm in the city just past the end of it. All of the issues I've ever heard about it are from the western counties.
The crew could also identify cultural and environmental sensitive areas, which might render portions of the people's land unusable for certain purposes.
I'd be there physically preventing them from entering my property.