https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/Recent content in Chapter 116I — Routing of Certain Pipelines on MinnesotaLawyer.comHugoen-ushttps://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.01/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.01/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.01, which contains definitions for the pipeline chapter.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.015/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.015/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.02, which covers routing of certain pipelines.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.02/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.02/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.03, which covers pipeline proposals and easement acquisition.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.03/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.03/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.04, which covers information books for pipeline projects.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.04/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.04/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.05, which covers public meetings required for pipeline projects.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.05/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.05/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.06, which covers interstate gas pipeline exemptions.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.06/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.06/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.07, which covers protecting public facilities and agricultural land from pipeline construction.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.07/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.07/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.08, which covers limitation of liability for damage to underground pipelines.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.08/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.08/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.09, which covers reversion of pipeline easements.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.09/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.09/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.10, which covers recording of pipeline survey points.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.10/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.10/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.11, which covers severability of pipeline law provisions.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.11/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/116i.11/This section has been renumbered. The content is now found at section 216G.12, which covers savings provisions for pipelines approved before the routing law took effect.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.01/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.01/This section defines key terms for the pipeline routing chapter. It explains what ‘construction,’ ‘pipeline,’ and ‘cultivated agricultural land’ mean. Pipelines carrying gas, crude oil, petroleum, ammonia, or mineral slurry are covered.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.02/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.02/No one may build certain pipelines in Minnesota without a routing permit from the Public Utilities Commission. The commission adopts rules for pipeline routing, and proposed routes must go through a public review process.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.03/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.03/Before a pipeline company can buy easements or rights-of-way, it must notify the Public Utilities Commission and county boards about the proposed route. The company must also pay a fee and wait for public meetings to be held.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.04/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.04/The Public Utilities Commission must prepare an information book about a proposed pipeline and give it to affected landowners. The book explains the pipeline, your rights as a landowner, legal requirements, and how to contact the county inspector.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.05/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.05/County boards must hold public meetings within 60 days of learning about a proposed pipeline route. The meetings inform the public about the pipeline and the legal requirements for building and operating it. State agencies must participate.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.06/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.06/Interstate natural gas pipelines that have federal eminent domain power under the Natural Gas Act do not have to follow the state’s pipeline easement acquisition rules.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.07/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.07/Pipelines built after May 1979 must be buried at least 4.5 feet deep when crossing public drainage ditches, roads, or agricultural land. Landowners can waive this depth requirement, but the waiver must be clear and separately signed.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.08/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.08/Farmers who accidentally damage an underground pipeline during normal farming are not liable for repair costs, unless they were grossly negligent. However, anyone installing drainage tile must first notify the one-call excavation system.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.09/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.09/Pipeline easements acquired after May 1979 automatically revert to the landowner if the pipeline stops operating for five years. This means the pipeline company loses its right to use your land if it abandons the pipeline.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.10/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.10/Pipeline companies must record the locations of survey markers used for their pipeline routes with the county recorder or registrar of titles. No fee is charged for recording this information.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.11/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.11/If any part of the pipeline chapter is found unconstitutional for one type of pipeline substance, the law still applies to pipelines carrying other substances. This severability provision keeps the rest of the law working.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.12/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-116i/216g.12/The easement and public meeting requirements do not apply to pipelines that already had a certificate of need filed and 85% of easements acquired before May 1979, or that already had an adequate environmental impact statement.