Complaint Review: BGE Gas and Electric Company

More than a dozen residents in the Nottingham neighborhood of Belmont South in Baltimore County are upset with Baltimore Gas and Electric and the prospect of losing part of their backyards. They're hoping for a compromise, something that everyone can live with.

The dispute is in a community where the homes do not use gas, they are all electric. But a gas pipeline runs through the neighborhood. BGE said it's claiming and protecting its property, but the homeowners think the utility is grabbing their land.

Instead of a sit-in, Pat Leisey threatens a "sit down" to protect her deck and rear steps.

"They said they're going to try to curve it, so you walk down to the steps and you're going to hit a fence, and then you (turn a) curve to get down to the bottom and you hit another fence. There's not going to be any lawn," Leisey said.

She and more than a dozen other neighbors are upset with BGE and the prospect of losing part of their back yards.

"They came and took the trees down on the hill, they've marked my property and then I was told that they were going to take about 50 percent of my back yard," said Pat Steele, a resident.

Steele said the utility installed posts about two years ago warning of an underground gas line. Then, workers recently put stakes in the ground marking territory. It's all to clear a 50-foot right-of-way. The residents said they would still have to pay taxes on the lost property that BGE took over and the company may install a new line in the next five to 10 years.

"All of the fences, all the sheds, all the landscaping that has been here in some places since the late 1970s now has to go," said Jerry Murray, a resident.

The residents said the utility offered to pay for the work but gave the homeowners just two weeks to decide to accept or pay for it themselves. Baltimore County Delegate Eric Bromwell, D-District 8, said he isn't happy with BGE's handling of the situation.

"I think it's a travesty. I think you have some very hard-working, blue collar families that are being bullied by a big utility," Bromwell said. "They should be a partner in this community. They shouldn't be coming in here and strong-arming these residents."

Bromwell said the utility already has a clear easement. He's seeking a compromise. BGE said this is all about safety.

"We understand the community's frustration over this and we're going to work with them and make sure that we put a solution in place that allows us to deliver energy safely and reliably to customers but also works for this community as well," BGE spokesman Aaron Koos said.

BGE told the 11 News I-Team that the utility has made no final determination.

"We really want to make sure that our pipelines are safe and reliable. We want to make sure that the easements are open so that we can maintain and access them at all times, and really what we're doing is reaching out to the communities and tell them what we need to do to do that, and work with them on options to make sure that we can access those pipelines," Koos said.

The utility said it was trying to get a decision from the homeowners by the end of the year.