Right-of-Way 101: The Pipeline Inspector’s Role With Landowners, Utilities, and Public Agencies

Pipeline Inspection Field Coordination

Right-of-Way 101: The Pipeline Inspector’s Role With Landowners, Utilities, and Public Agencies

Right-of-way coordination keeps pipeline projects moving, prevents damage, and protects relationships that matter long after crews leave. Pipeline inspectors and field coordinators sit at the center of that work.

Published October 2, 2025 API 1169 Related Right-of-Way Coordination

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Right-of-Way Basics

What “right-of-way” means for pipeline inspection

A right-of-way is permission to access, build, operate, and maintain infrastructure on someone else’s land. The pipeline inspector’s job is to help keep the work inside the permission that was granted, document what happens, and raise issues before they become conflicts, delays, or damages.

Right-of-way inspection is not just a land department concern. It directly affects safety, environmental compliance, utility protection, landowner relationships, construction progress, and project closeout.

Landowner Coordination

Working with landowners: etiquette that earns trust

• ✓Show up prepared. Know the parcel, contact names, access route, and any special conditions before you arrive.
• ✓Introduce yourself clearly. State your name, company, role, and purpose in a short and professional way.
• ✓Ask before acting. Confirm gates, livestock, crops, irrigation timing, driveways, and avoidance areas.
• ✓Keep the footprint tight. Stay inside approved temporary workspace, access paths, and limits of disturbance.
• ✓Protect improvements. Identify fences, wells, culverts, driveways, landscaping, and other features before work begins.
• ✓Close the loop. Leave the property as found or better, and document the final condition when work wraps.

First Call Script

A simple landowner notification script

“Hi, this is [Name], the pipeline inspection contact for the [Project]. We plan to enter your property on [date] between [time window]. Our access will be through [location]. If that timing or route creates a problem, please let me know. My number is [phone].”

Short, specific communication helps avoid confusion. The inspector should also document the date, time, method of contact, and any landowner instructions or restrictions.

Utility Coordination

Utilities: coordination that prevents strikes

• ✓File the one-call locate request early and refresh it if the validity window expires.
• ✓Verify utility markings in the field. Do not rely only on drawings, paint, or flags.
• ✓Use potholing, vacuum excavation, hand digging, or soft excavation where required.
• ✓Read and follow crossing agreements, including separation, support, cover, and monitoring requirements.
• ✓Use a dedicated watcher or spotter when working near utilities.
• ✓Stop work when markings do not match field conditions.

Public Agencies

Public agencies: permits first, then work

County roads, state departments of transportation, railroads, cities, water districts, and federal lands may all have different permit conditions. The inspector should understand which public agency controls the work area and verify that the permit conditions are being followed in the field.

• ✓Keep permit copies available on site or electronically accessible.
• ✓Highlight special permit conditions before work begins.
• ✓Follow time-of-day restrictions for lane closures or access windows.
• ✓Respect seasonal, weather, wetland, waterbody, or species-related work windows.
• ✓Notify the agency contact before field changes occur when the permit requires it.

Notification Timing

Notification timing that keeps pipeline inspection out of trouble

• 1Two weeks out: confirm permits, crossing agreements, one-call requirements, and agency contacts.
• 2One week out: send owner notices, schedule utility or agency meetings, and confirm access requirements.
• 372 to 48 hours out: verify locates, confirm landowner instructions, and stage signage or controls.
• 4Day of work: brief the crew, verify markings and buffers, and log start conditions with photos.

Daily Report Items

What the pipeline inspector should log

• ✓Who was notified, when, and how.
• ✓One-call ticket numbers and expiration dates.
• ✓Utility owner names, field representatives, and sign-offs.
• ✓Permit numbers, permit conditions, and agency contacts.
• ✓Landowner requests, constraints, crop concerns, access instructions, and resolution steps.
• ✓Pre-work and post-work photos from consistent vantage points.

Common Friction Points

How to defuse common right-of-way problems

Access window disputesOffer an alternate time or route when possible, confirm the change in writing, and document the communication.

Utility markings that do not make senseStop, contact the utility owner, and verify the location before digging or crossing.

Missed permit conditionPause the work, notify the responsible contact, and correct the plan before the activity creates a violation.

Weather or crop damage concernsAdd mats, adjust timing, improve access controls, and confirm the corrective approach with the owner or land representative.

Knowledge Checks

Quick right-of-way knowledge checks

When should you refresh a one-call ticket?

Refresh the ticket when the original validity window is about to expire or when required by the applicable one-call rules, project requirements, or field conditions.

What is the right first step when markings do not match what you uncover?

Stop, contact the utility owner, and verify before digging or continuing work. Do not guess around unknown or conflicting utility information.

Why should landowner requests be documented?

Documented requests help protect relationships, support accountability, and create a record of how access, crops, livestock, gates, or other property concerns were handled.

Training Connection

Build right-of-way coordination habits into inspection training

Respect for landowners, utilities, and public agencies is more than courtesy. It is a pipeline inspection control that prevents delays, claims, utility strikes, and permit issues.

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Author Profile

About the Author: Matt Wood

Matt Wood has 22 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, with a background that includes pipeline construction, pipeline integrity, advanced nondestructive testing, ground disturbance coordination, PHMSA pre-audit preparation, and inspection training. His experience includes Phased Array Ultrasonics, corrosion mapping with AUT, work on Alaska’s North Slope, refinery work in Hawaii, offshore platforms off the California coast, and pipeline integrity and construction projects across the United States.

Through Velocity Training, Matt helps inspectors and inspection candidates connect right-of-way coordination, field documentation, safety expectations, environmental controls, and inspection judgment to real construction decisions.

Learn More About Velocity Training Contact Velocity Training

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