LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa.– Authorities can seize the first property in the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline case, according to court documents.
U.S. Eastern District Court Judge, Jeffrey Schmehl, issued an order on Tuesday that gave the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company the right to condemn Jeffrey and Kim Kann’s property along Main Street in Conestoga Township.
According to the order, “the U.S. Marshal Service, or a law enforcement agency it designates, shall be authorized to investigate and arrest, confine in prison and/or bring before the Court any persons found to be in violation of this Order and in contempt of this Order.”
The company can now obtain temporary and permanent rights of way for the pipeline.
Thus far, it is the first eminent domain order against 30 Lancaster County landowners that have refused to sell their land for the pipeline.
The Atlantic Sunrise pipeline would pass through 37 miles of Lancaster County.
Below are the court documents from Judge Schmehl’s order:
