Happy Thanksgiving!

The dozers wake us every morning and usually continue to nearly dark every day of the week. The neighbor to the north is removing what may be thousands of trees.

He dozed our newly-surveyed property line Tuesday. In a couple of places the surveyor had left two marks, one a bit north of the other. He dozed out each northern marker and left the southern one. We're going to stretch a string from one surveyed corner to the other, and the property is described as a straight line. I'm pretty sure in following that line, we'll find dozing and missing trees on our side.

He made repeated remarks last summer that he was going to doze our hillside for us as though this were a favor. We repeatedly asked him not to do so, and he continued to insist he would do us this fine favor. He said he would doze our driveway too.

We put up a gate on our driveway, and we keep it locked at all times whether we're home or not. It's a big farm gate, huge telephone pole posts and everything. The neighbor has slowed down as he drove by, and he seems to be looking at the gate. One time he stopped in the highway to watch me come down and AROUND the gate. There is so far no fence on either side of the gate. Only vehicle traffic is stopped until we get the fence started.

Tuesday night the dogs were barking toward the gate at the bottom of our hill. We were going out to get firewood and had a lantern. We walked to the edge of the hill. The neighbor's truck was running in our driveway in front of the closed gate, lights on. We saw someone get into the truck as we approached. The truck backed out quickly and sped down the highway. As we watched, the truck turned into the neighbor's driveway and was turned off. We're certain of this, and by golly there were no intervening trees to block our view. We stayed outside for an hour watching, but the truck stayed at the neighbor's house.

(The kids say there's an episode of the Simpsons where Homer vandalizes his neighbor's house and then pulls his car into his own driveway next door.)

So the question is, what was he doing down there?

Our well is down there, but it isn't obvious. And this was pitch black night, so the well might not have been easily found.

The dozing had gone across a ravine on our place, up a hill on his place, through a second gentler-slope ravine on his place, and then over to the few yards of dozing on our shared border across the ravine.

There's an old "fire road" they call it, that runs from our driveway across a broken dam that spans the ravine on our place. This road is no longer a real road. It is completely impassable by normal vehicle. After the impassable dam, the way is blocked by trees all the way up the hill to our northern border. At this point the dozing begins.

We don't know for sure why this guy was in our driveway at night, or why he was trespassing on foot, or why he ran away from us when just that morning we had spoken pleasantly to him while his #$%@! dozers were ripping trees out by the roots a few yards behind our house.

Here's a thought, and I'd like input: Take a piece of paper and draw two lines from the corners on one end. Make the lines meet in a 'v' shape roughly two thirds of the way down the paper. The middle of the 'v' is the hill I emphasized above. The only way to get an easy road through his place is to remove our gate and use the old "fireroad" on OUR place.

He's got roads bulldozed from one side of his place to the other in at least three locations, so he can't say nothing can get through. We're pretty sure he's going to put in a trailer park/campgrounds kind of facility, although again we're guessing.

The problem with his three known roads is that they are very steep, subject to washout from the horrible environmental damage his dozers have done, and he'll have to spend money making them driveable by normal vehicles.

I've looked at real estate law on the net regarding easement, and it seems that he would have to prove in court that he could not access the hill in the middle without going over us, but that isn't true. He HAS accessed it with a bulldozer, and I'm going to take videos to prove it.

I think he'd have a hard time in court proving he can't afford to build a road, as he's spent tens of thousands of dollars on dozers at $100 per hour, two at a time, at least ninety days of dozing or more.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, and yes, I'm getting a lawyer on it next week.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2002

Answers

Call the EPA re erosion? Sierra Club?

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2002

I would think he has to file plans and stuff before getting permits to do this stuff. Or to do what you think he plans. Call the county and ask how someone would go about doing something like what he is doing.

Don't mention what you think he might do.

Doyou have signs, "Posted, no trespassing" set up on your land? if not, do so.

Make him pay to have the survey markers replaced using the same company you used. don't let him use one hired by him.

Hope you have plenty of film.

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2002

Here in Iowa you do NOT have to give easement to property that is landlocked. We looked at 2 parcels of land that were landlocked and the neighbors did NOT have to give easement by law.

I would certainly string something like an electric fence between your markers and tell the dozer guys to not cross those lines or you will sue them as well for damages. I would follow up with a certified letter to the landowner and the dozer guys stating that any damage to your property will be repaired and that no one is to cross the property line for any reason or better yet have a lawyer quickly do this. I thought you had gotten a lawyer before on this? I would also call the sheriff and notify them that your neighbor is trespassing and can he talk to the neighbor.

I would also make that old fire road as unattractive / impassible as possible.

Solar electric fencers are about $120 (and I would chain it down) and the posts and wire (I would use the white woven wire so they can see it) are fairly cheap to put up. You could always hook it to a car battery to give a larger jolt or 110 to really get them (sorry, just being ornery).

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2002

note to self: NEVER piss off beckie.

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2002

"Call the EPA re erosion?"

In this case helen needs to contact Oklahoma since the applicable EPA program has been delegated in that state. It is the Stormwater Construction Permit which, in Oklahoma, affects any project involving earth disturbance of at least one acre. Sounds like more than that has been affected already.

Stormwater Program: http://www.deq.state.ok.us/WQDnew/stormwater/index.html

Fact Sheet: http://www.deq.state.ok.us/WQDnew/stormwater/construction/okr10_fact_s heet_13_sep_2002.pdf

The cornerstone of the general permit program is preparation of a stormwater pollution prevention plan.

"For more information regarding the storm water program please contact the Department of Environmental Quality at (405)702-8100." They might be interested in an enforcement situation since this guy is so out of control.

-- Anonymous, December 02, 2002

Thanks for all the input, and especially the links to the stormwater people. This is a senic river, and only our broken dam would prevent the massive soil runoff from reaching the river. And our dam is definitely broken. A bunch of dirt and rocks coming down might finish it off.

It just so happens we know environmental lawyers who LIVE on this river. >;)

There is no way he can use our land for access without endangering our well. I think there may be a point to be made there.

-- Anonymous, December 02, 2002