Property Owner Use of Right of Way
Pipeline Markers
Pipeline rights of way are marked with signs showing the pipeline’s approximate location, commodity transported, name of the pipeline company and a telephone number where company representatives can be reached. For security reasons, detailed maps of the pipeline are not publicly available.
Damage Prevention Notification
The most frequent cause of damage to pipelines is when people dig, ditch, blast or drill near a pipeline.
Duke Energy supports and participates in the one-call notification programs. The program provides contractors and residents with information about the location of the pipeline and informs Duke Energy of planned excavations, allowing the company to monitor any activities in close proximity to the pipeline.
Before performing excavation or digging, property owners, contractors or other parties are required to notify their state One-Call (or Dig-Safe) Center in accordance with the state’s One-Call notification requirements. The One-Call Center will notify Duke Energy of the planned work and our facilities will be marked so that the excavator knows where the pipeline is located underground. Duke Energy will likely require that its personnel be present for the excavation in gas transmission right of ways. This policy is for the safety of those performing the work and the public, as well as for the protection of the pipeline.
Before you excavate or dig, please call the appropriate one-call notification center. One-Call Center phone numbers can be found on the Dig Safely Web site.
Pipeline Construction on Right of Way
New natural gas pipelines are considered necessary infrastructure for the regions in which they are located. These facilities may offer significant economic development benefits to communities within those regions. Even so, we recognize that these projects can directly affect individual property owners whose land the pipelines cross. Throughout the project planning process and the process of acquiring easements, our obligation is to treat all property owners with courtesy and respect and to provide accurate information regarding the proposed activity.
Use of the Right of Way
Permanent structures cannot be placed on the right of way/easement because they obstruct access and impair Duke Energy’s ability to safely operate and maintain the pipeline. Obstructions may include, but are not limited to, houses, trailers, mobile homes, poles, decks, tool sheds, trees, garages, swimming pools, septic tanks and new leach fields or other structures that obstruct or impede access to the right of way.
We encourage you to contact Duke Energy at 1-800-USE-DUKE early on in the planning process to discuss your proposal and determine what, if anything, may be required to work or place improvements near or across Duke Energy pipelines.
