A Virginia man claims Bayou Bridge pipeline construction is underway on St. Martin Parish property he co-owns with his siblings.
Peter K. Aaslestad filed the lawsuit on Friday. He’s asked for a judge to issue an injunction to stop construction on the property.
"Bayou Bridge has neither obtained willful consent by easement agreement, nor commenced an action to expropriate against Plaintiff to obtain the right to enter and execute on any previously obtained servitude encumbering the Property," his attorneys write in the petition.
The lawsuit claims that Aaslestad and his three siblings inherited the property but never agreed to an easement with Bayou Bridge, even though the company reached out with an offer. It also claims that Bayou Bridge never initiated an action to expropriate the property.
The lawsuit includes aerial photos they claim were taken June 28 and show trees had been cleared from Aaslestad’s property. Other aerial photos they say were taken on July 23 showed equipment and construction activities taking place there.
"It appeared that construction activities had begun, that one excavator present on the Property was actively digging the trench in which the pipeline will be laid along the proposed pipeline route as it crosses the Property," his attorneys write.
More on Bayou Bridge:
Under-construction Bayou Bridge pipeline may have violated federal permit, Corps says
State judge: Bayou Bridge pipeline permit illegal
In Bayou Bridge lawsuit, federal judge skeptical about pipeline’s impact on wetlands
