Saturday, February 17, 2018

Update on Duke Energy Progress cutting trees

On the advice of an attorney I filed a complaint with the NC Utilities Commission last Monday. They took down all the details of our situation and are doing research and investigation, and will be responding within 10 business days.

Meanwhile, the document that Duke Energy Progress says gives them the right to cut 20 full feet beyond their 25-foot right of way has not yet been delivered to me.

A friend who is a town council member asked me to share the details of this situation with our county commissioners. I did that on Thursday. I also shared all my information with our county beekeepers’ association.

For now, then, we’re in wait and see mode.

There is a plan for moving beyond this if necessary.

Onward!


6 comments:

The Dancing Donkey said...

Be on the lookout and don't take for granted that the trees are safe while you are doing all the legal wrestling. I had something similar happen last year when the electric company came around and asked if they could access my horse pasture to trim trees. I told them no and they promised not to cut anything without having their forester talk to me. I never heard from him, but I consulted an attorney anyway and did lots of the things you are.

However, one day when I was not home, work crews showed up, cut my fence and cut down my trees. I was livid beyond description. There was lots of shouting and apologies, but at the end of the day, the trees were gone.

I've talked to a lot of other people in my town who had similar experiences. Keep your eyes peeled for work crews with chainsaws showing up when you least expect them.

Grey Horse Matters said...

Sounds like you’ve got the wheels moving. I hope it works out to your benefit and not Duke’s.

billie said...

A, I’m hopeful but we will see!

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

Hmmm - wonder if they've finished writing that document yet...

Best of luck to you. We're gearing up to fight offshore drilling around here.

billie said...

DD, that is appalling. I hope you were compensated for your trouble in every way. I am curious if they cut the fence while your horses were inside and if so, were there any consequences to your equines? Did they put the fence back?

I had thought of the situation you lived through - thankfully I work at home so am almost always here. We do have no trespassing signs posted front and back and I have let Duke know that there are horses and dogs and if anyone comes on the property without my permission and presence there will ensue a legal battle the likes of which they have not seen. The next step will actually be a legal stop order that will not allow them to proceed until things are completely resolved.

Years back I woke up one morning to the sound of chainsaws and huge machinery adjacent to our front pasture. My horses were going nuts and when I went out and told the crew to stop, the guy in charge was rude, basically told me he had the right to enter my property, and until I bellowed at him and his men to get the hell off my property, they stood there like I was crazy. I called the power company (different one, our actual power comes from a smaller electric co-op) and the regional manager drove up about 15 minutes later and told that crew to leave and not come back to my farm. They were an out of state crew contracted to do the trimming work. The local guy brought in his own crew and they did the work under MY supervision and with horses completely out of harm’s way. I can’t believe anyone thinks it’s okay to do that kind of work around horses without the owner being right there to supervise and keep everyone - animals and people - safe.

There’s an interesting (also appalling) thing going on in our county with regards to Duke creating a coal ash pit and also dumping coal ash at this point illegally at a different site. There are legal battles going on with that, and they have gotten a lot of bad press about what they have done/are doing on that front. So no one is in the mood here to give them any slack at all about anything.

billie said...

C, hahaha, that is a good one. Hopefully the offshore drilling will not happen. I’ve signed everything there has been to sign saying NO and also written to my legislators and called the Governor’s Office as well.