Elk County radio tower dispute

[HM1529]

An interesting neighbor dispute that may bring down a county radio system upgrade.

Elk County public safety upgrade plan could miss out on federal funding

A temporary 911 tower is at the center of a legal dispute between property owners in rural Pennsylvania.

www.spotlightpa.org

 

[KK4JUG]

Doesn't Pennsylvania still have eminent domain?

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

I'm guessing no?

https://ij.org/issues/private-property/eminent-domain/pennsylvania-eminent-domain-laws/#:~:text=What%20is%20Eminent%20Domain%3F,projects%20like%20roads%20or%20bridges.

 

[buddrousa]

Here in Tn you have to give property owners right of ways to their property or utility district right of way to its equipment.
If 911 in PA is like TN 911 is a Utility District.

 

[HM1529]

I'm guessing no?

https://ij.org/issues/private-property/eminent-domain/pennsylvania-eminent-domain-laws/#:~:text=What%20is%20Eminent%20Domain%3F,projects%20like%20roads%20or%20bridges.

They do

 

[HM1529]

What is probably the sticking point here is that the owner willing to allow the tower owns the surface rights to the land. The neighbors own the mineral rights below his land.

In PA, surface and subsurface rights (to oil, gas, and coal) are not conjoined.

Eminent domain would work for surface land, but then you still have the separately owned mineral rights below the surface. With those rights come the ability to extract the resources in question. I don't think there is any ability for a government to prevent exercise of subsurface rights. This was an issue when the gas boom first happened and gas companies drilled all over state forest land.

It leads to a lot of issues in PA when someone comes along to land you own and decides to dig a hole or drill wells to remove a resource that they own.