BOWLING GREEN, OH (WTOL) - Controversy in Bowling Green is stirring as the Nexus Pipeline is now suing the city to build on city property.
But as the city's attorney explains, this step was expected.
Last year, the City of Bowling Green and the board of public utilities had come to an agreement with nexus pipeline on an easement of property that the city owns.
But when the vote went before city council, it was unanimously voted down.
Some in BG thought that would prevent the pipeline from being built, but then Nexus was approved to be a utility in the state of Ohio.
"They were gr anted eminent domain power, in other words it was determined that they were a utility. So basically there is no defense to their taking, the only issue then is what is your compensation," said Bowling Green City attorney Mike Marsh.
Therefore on October 2, Nexus pipeline filed a lawsuit seeking easements in multiple locations across the state, including the BG property. Marsh said soon a judge will rule in favor of Nexus and allow them to build their pipeline.
But despite rumors in BG, the eminent domain easement has nothing to do with the BG water plant or the river crossing.
"The Nexus permit has 39 conditions that need to be fulfilled by Nexus in order to be able to construct this thing. And the vast majority of those 39 conditions relate to Bowling Green and the river crossing," said Marsh.
Marsh has said that the majority of the complaints in the lawsuit are actually over disputes over reimbursement, and actually the majority of those have already come to a conclusion.
But since the City of Bowling Green flat out denied Nexus, he is unsure as to how long this portion of the lawsuit will take.
