Petoskey council presses DTE on easement terms, asks for tighter limits on temporary workspace and chemical use

DTE Energy representatives outlined a proposed permanent and temporary utility easement across a city-owned parcel on Krause Road and fielded detailed questions from the Petoskey City Council on July 6.

Chris Hackbarth, DTE's regional manager for Northern Michigan, said the project would install approximately 14 miles of transmission pipeline to create a looped feed for roughly 19,000 customers in the region, replacing a one-way feed. Tyler Remington, DTE's senior land agent, explained the company's valuation approach: where tax cards exist DTE starts from assessed value; otherwise it uses nearby comparables and adjusts for impact. Remington said the company typically offers about $3,000'$5,000 per acre plus tree-damage payments and other damages for parcels with higher impacts.

Council members raised multiple concerns that could affect compensation and contract terms. They pressed DTE for clarity on the permanent easement width (50 feet total, 25 feet on each side of centerline), the wider construction swath needed during installation (75 feet total during construction), and how long temporary workspace would remain in place. DTE said the 25-foot temporary workspace is intended only for active construction on a parcel and would be restored following installation; the company said it could add language to the easement to limit the duration to the period of initial construction on that parcel.

Council members also asked about environmental work and contamination risks. DTE said it has completed wetland delineations, habitat assessments and cultural resource surveys as required, and will coordinate permits with EGLE, county road commissions and the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), which has oversight of transmission siting. On vegetation management, council members asked whether DTE would use chemical herbicides on the right-of-way. DTE said it uses brush-hogging for most maintenance, sometimes limited chemical treatments in select areas, and that it would confer with its operations manager and the city on language that could assure no chemical defoliants are used on the city parcel.

A few council members pushed for higher compensation for the city parcel given tree loss and public-use value; DTE said the parcel in question would affect about 2.63 acres and that tree-damage payments could add materially to the per-acre figure. DTE indicated it could increase the overall payment once tree damage and other impacts are calculated.

Outcome and next steps: DTE agreed to provide revised easement language addressing time limits for temporary workspace, tree-damage accounting and clarifications about vegetation-management practices. The company and city legal staff agreed the updated draft would be circulated to council and the city attorney, with the intent to revisit the matter at the council meeting in two weeks. No binding easement was approved at the meeting.

Why it matters: The easement would cross city-owned open space and trail corridors; the construction and long-term maintenance approach will determine how the corridor looks after construction and whether trail connections or restoration work will be required. The MPSC retains final siting authority, but voluntary easement terms and compensation are material to the city's decision.

Ending: DTE representatives said they were available for follow-up and to provide exhibit maps and environmental details to the city manager and attorney ahead of the next scheduled council meeting.