Locating An Old Pipeline?

[toledo]

Im needing to do some minor dirt work near an old pipeline. There's a single marker on an old fence on one side of my property. Nothing on the other. GPM Gas Corp (409)242-3131. That number and company name seems to be a dead end. Tried to follow the line with a metal detector today but no luck.

The work will be a shallow drainage ditch and cutting and leveling no more than a foot below surface.

The subject area is under about a foot of water right now. Would a normal Texas 811 utility locate be any good? Can they tell me the depth to the line? Will they actually mark areas under water?

Is there any way to determine if it is completely abandoned, the status, or who is responsible for it?

[parkchief100]

Call 811

[toledo]

Call 811

Guess I should have already done that. Ive previously dealt with Exxon and Explorer and just dealt with them directly. Guess I should just call it in and see what I get.

But Id also like to know who or if anyone is responsible for this thing, If it's abandoned, can you request that it be removed?

[Jamvo]

Call in a locate and make sure you meet them when they come. Legally they don’t have to tell you a depth so typically they’re told not to. But they usually will if you’re standing there with them.

[Drycreek3189]

If it’s underwater, the ground should be soft enough to probe it.

[Gumbo Man]

If it’s underwater, the ground should be soft enough to probe it.

Makes sense to me.

[Bilbo]

https://gis.rrc.texas.gov/gisviewer/

Railroad Commission website has a GIS function. Go to visibility and turn on pipelines. When you find it, click on it and you can get some info (abandoned or not). But also call 811.

[OleTomTalker]

Call 811 for sure. Understand though that 811 does not locate utilities, they only communicate to utility companies your ticket info for the job. Hopefully someone responds for it, but hearing that number no longer is good, I doubt your gonna hear from anyone.

[dwhite]

Definitely call 811. GPM is out of business. If you have an idea which way the line runs, you might check at a public road crossing. If someone has taken it over, they might have changed signs there. Also getting a response on an old production line is a toss-up. You might try probing it yourself around the sign and follow it to where you're working. As long as it is not fiberglass or plastic, you'll be in good shape.

[buzzbait]

also the easement should be listed on your deed

[Buckshot4900]

Is it under a public lake?


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[Bill]

If 811 does not work out. Lots of irrigation landscapers and electricians have a scanning tool that lets them walk an area and detect metal below the ground before they dig. If the ground's soft, digging a foot down to test it in a couple areas is doable.

[diamonde40]

Call 811 or go to their website and submit for locate known as a One-Call. You will need lat and long. Everyone with a pipeline within those parameters will either send a survey crew to mark their line with all the information you are asking about on the stake or they will give a LONO (Letter of No Objection) that the depth you are wanting to dig will not be an issue.

[Twist]

also the easement should be listed on your deed

Easement description by metes and bounds, yes. But, do not go by that, please, just don’t. Some of these descriptions are written by people who have no business in doing any such thing.

Do an 811 as previously recommended several times. If you want to verify it a bit more, contact a company that rents/sells supplies and equipment to surveying companies. They’ll likely have a locator that will help establish the actual physical positioning of a pipeline.

You might not get the depth but you should definitely get the direction by using one of those, and it’ll be more accurate than using the old markers on posts.

[Froggy]

I've located water lines and old pipelines using dowsing rods made out of metal coat hangers. Laugh if you want but it works.

When I was with the Forest Service we had some old abandoned well locations with flowlines that were unmarked. I was able to find several by crisscrossing the area and using pin flags.

Check out some of the videos on Youtube.