Joseph Rust had plans for his little piece of land in the northeast part of Decatur County. It may be only five acres, with a little house and a pond, but he was going to add on to the house, and he and his wife were going to enjoy their days together in the comfy confines of the country.

Now, he said, he is uncertain if those plans will ever come to fruition.

He, like many residents across the northern end of the county, was informed the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) - a 42-inch-circumference, 1,663-mile natural gas pipeline, was planning to cut right through his property. The companies backing the line - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners; Sempra Pipelines & Storage, a unit of Sempra Energy; and ConocoPhillips - are seeking 125-foot temporary and 50-foot permanent easements to construct and maintain the line across these properties. The idea instantly settled poorly with him, Rust noted.

"I don't want to live near a pipeline that could explode without warning," he said.

Rust and some like-minded local citizens have formed a group, Residents Against REX, in the hopes of fighting the path and perhaps the construction of the giant line, which is slated to be the longest ever built. Safety is one of his concerns and he and the group have compiled scores of data detailing similar explosions from other lines, many of which he noted became tragic events because the companies responsible for them were lax on their safety inspections and upkeep.

Rust noted Kinder Morgan, the main corporation leading the pipeline project, has a documented history of poor upkeep. The Arizona Daily Star reported on March 22, 2005 that a July 2003 pipeline rupture in Tucson, Ariz. and a fatal pipeline accident in California "prompted closer scrutiny of the safety procedures" the company uses. According to an Aug. 29, 2005 report in the Sacramento Business Journal, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) had to order Kinder Morgan to "address an increase in pipeline breaks and the potential for future problems along its 3,100-mile Pacific" line. In April, a press release from DOT stated Kinder Morgan reached an agreement with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to do an estimated $90 million in safety upgrades to its lines in six Western states. The release added stiff fines would be levied if the agreement was not fulfilled, and the PHMSA felt the company was making the correct steps.

"Companies have an obligation to maintain and ensure the safety of their systems," PHMSA then Acting Administrator Brigham A. McCown said in the release. "Kinder Morgan has made a significant commitment to safety under this agreement."

However, Rust and his group are not convinced.

"Kinder Morgan themselves do not have a good track record for safety," Rust said. "If not maintained, the pipeline can easily rupture, break or explode."

Allen Fore, REX spokesman, stated safety should not be an issue when considering this pipeline.

"Sometimes people don't understand what goes into this, especially if they have never dealt with a pipeline before," he said. "There'll be compressor stations along the route and remote monitors. We seek to make the least impact on the property and the community as possible."

Safety not withstanding, Rust and his fellow advocates cite the way the companies are approaching REX as the major position for feeling uneasy.

"The main thing that irks me is these are private entities," Rust said. "There is a problem when private entities use federal government to help them build something that could lead to an eminent domain situation. When the government is in collusion with a private entity to take people's property for their own profits, I don't think that is fair."

In order to construct the line, the three companies are sidestepping local and state governments and seeking approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Fore noted it would be too hard to coordinate the REX-East line, which runs 622 miles from Audrain County, Mo., to Monroe County, Ohio, by seeking each county government's approval. Rust noted if FERC gives its approval, it could trump any motions made on the local or state level.

"They could go to the federal government and they can approve it. That's what (the companies) are trying to do so they don't have to go to each county government," Rust noted.

If approved, the companies can begin negotiating to purchase easements from the landowners in question. However, if people refuse things can get rough, Rust noted. With a $4 billion investment at stake, Rust said he feels little will stand in the companies' way of completing it once and if FERC approves the route. Land owners who hold out, he predicted, could have their land taken by eminent domain. While Fore never mentioned the exact words "eminent domain," he did note court may be necessary "to negotiate a fair market value" for the property in order to complete the line if that situation would arise.

Rust noted a June 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision favors the REX pipeline when it comes to property rights. Kelo v. City of New London involved a case of a private developer and group of New London, Conn., residents whose homes where to be condemned to make way for a Pfizer plant. The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of the developer and city in a decision the Cato Institute cited as "a blow to homeowners." Rust fears this case set a precedent that may come into play if REX-East is approved and homeowners will have to deal with what is decided.

"In this case, we're stuck with a pipeline with all that natural gas flowing through it and thousands of people and I don't how much land effected," Rust said.

Fore stated he understood this kind of resistance and encouraged anyone with concerns to attend FERC's scoping meeting from 7 to 10 p.m., Sept. 11, at Greensburg Community High School.

"We're going to make the effort to address the concerns of residents," he said. "We're confident people will be willing to work with us once they understand the details."

Rust, who feels the land he worked for and planned to enjoy may be in jeopardy, will be at the meeting with fellow members of his group. He has also been speaking with local and state representatives in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., in the hopes of at least changing the path of the giant pipeline but said he prefers a different alternative.

"I would like to see the pipeline project canned completely," he said.