If past practice is any indication of what the future could hold, Coos County residents leery of a larger and longer pipeline may have reason for concern.

According to Coos County legal counsel David Koch, to date, at least $115,000 in settlement awards have been paid out to local property owners for damages incurred by the construction company that built a 65-mile-long natural gas pipeline from Roseburg to Coos Bay.

That total is not final because of lawsuits still pending, he said.

While Coos County was initially named as a codefendant in the lawsuits, Koch said, with some persuasion, MasTec Inc., the Miami-based contractor hired by the county to construct the 12-inch-wide pipeline, ultimately accepted responsibility for most of the damages.

“Under the terms of the contract with MasTec, they were required to defend and indemnify Coos County against damage claims because they were the ones with control over the construction of the pipeline,” Koch said. “They were responsible for any damages that they committed on these properties.”

In October 2003, Myrtle Point residents Alice Yost, Marvin Brown, Karen Wolfe, William Van Vleet, Barbara Van Vleet, Del Knight and Linda Knight filed a lawsuit asking for a total of $910,000 for damages they claimed were caused by MasTec when the company installed pipe near Myrtle Point. In July 2004, the plaintiffs settled out of court for $35,000 - $5,000 each.

Koch said the settlement was paid out by MasTec - not the county.

In a separate lawsuit, the county did pay out $20,000 in damages to Wayne West, who lives on Lone Pine Lane in Myrtle Point, while MasTec paid West $60,000, Koch said.

Koch said he understands some residents' apprehension, but he emphasized the damages brought on were caused by MasTec's construction practices. A second construction company, North Plains-based Rockford Corp., took over the project after the county fired MasTec, and has not been party to any lawsuits, Koch said.

“That tells me the damages that were incurred were unique to the construction practices that MasTec followed and are not typical of what you would see on a pipeline construction project,” he said.

Del Knight, who lives on Lone Pine Lane in Myrtle Point, said he's received a letter from Williams asking for permission to survey his property.

He said he doesn't plan to sign it.

He contends pipeline crews destroyed a well pump on his property and tore up his driveway. He's convinced that whether he signs or not, construction companies would likely plow ahead unimpeded, saying MasTec had “zero permission” to be on his land but that “they did it anyhow.”

“I'm afraid if I give (Williams) that permission it will set a precedent to tear things up again,” Knight said.

He's not ruling out the possibility a construction company could conduct operations much differently than MasTec.

“This time around, doggone it, they had better get a good, reputable company to do it,” he said.