For at least three generations, the Luidhardt family has farmed land north of Bowling Green, Ohio.
asserted
family → farm → Green
That continuity came under pressure when the family learned that a natural gas pipeline connected to Meta’s data centre in Middleton Township could cross roughly 40 acres of their soybean fields.
uncertain
pipeline → come → fields
After Jon and Ken Luidhardt challenged the proposed route through the Ohio Power Siting Board, the developer ultimately selected a different path, according to BG Independent News and The Cool Down.
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developer → challenge → News
The dispute became a broader test of how farmland, family heritage, and private corporate development collide in the age of rapid data-centre expansion.
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farmland → become → expansion
While Williams, the pipeline company’s parent firm, says it never pursued or threatened eminent domain on the route submitted for review, the Luidhardts say a map showed the pipeline crossing their property and that they felt compelled to fight back.
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they → say → property
A farm with deep family roots
Jon Luidhardt said the land has been in his family for at least three generations, and he wants future generations to continue farming it.
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generations → say → generations
“We want to continue a fourth and fifth generation of farming,” he told BG Independent News.
asserted
he → want → News
The property lies near the corner of Haskins Road and Hannah Road, between Bowling Green and Haskins.
asserted
property → lie → Green
Its value to the family was not only agricultural, but also personal, because it represented continuity, work, and a way of life passed down over decades.
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it → represent → decades
That history helps explain why the family rejected a financial offer to sell part of the acreage.
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family → help → acreage
Luidhardt said pipeline representatives offered what he described as an “insane amount of money,” with some offers reportedly reaching as much as $200,000 per acre, but he argued that money could not replace family history.
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money → say → history
A pipeline for Meta’s data center
Will-Power, a pipeline company connected to Williams, sought land for a natural gas pipeline intended to serve the Meta data centre being built in Middleton Township.
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Power → connect → Township
The pipeline would support the Apollo power plant, a natural gas facility located east of the data centre.
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pipeline → support → centre
The Apollo plant was approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board in February under an expedited review process.
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plant → approve → process
It will operate “behind the meter,” meaning it will serve the electricity needs of the adjacent Meta data centre rather than being physically connected to the public power grid, as per the reports.
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it → operate → reports
Because the facility is dedicated to a single customer, the approval process did not include public hearings.
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process → dedicate → hearings
That lack of broader public involvement became a central concern for opponents, who argued that the project was designed to benefit one private company rather than the wider community.
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project → become → community
The reports further suggested that when Jon Luidhardt saw a map indicating that the pipeline would cross the family’s soybean field, he and his father contacted attorney Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law in Columbus.
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he → suggest → Columbus
The family had previously worked with Thompson to stop another pipeline from crossing their land.
asserted
family → work → land
Thompson filed a motion to intervene with the Ohio Power Siting Board.
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Thompson → file → Board
He argued that private property in Ohio should not be taken simply to benefit a purely private corporate project, including a private pipeline built to fuel that project.
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property → argue → project
The legal argument focused on eminent domain, the government power to take private property for public use.
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argument → focus → use
Thompson contended that the Apollo pipeline was solely intended to fuel Meta, rather than to heat Ohio homes or fuel vehicles, and therefore did not meet the traditional public-use standard.
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pipeline → contend → standard
The developer says it chose another route
After the family’s challenge, Thompson said Will-Power informed regulators that the line would be redirected around Luidhardt Farms and removed from the family’s property.
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line → say → property
However, at the time of publication, the Luidhardts had not yet seen the revised map.
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Luidhardts → see → map
Williams disputed the characterisation that eminent domain had been used or threatened.
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domain → dispute → characterisation
A company representative said the Luidhardt property was not on the route submitted for review and that the company had already achieved 100 percent acquisition before the farmer filed the intervention.
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farmer → say → intervention
The representative also said that all land options for the project involved voluntary agreements and that Williams did not pursue or threaten eminent domain against any landowner affected by the route.
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Williams → say → route
The company has previously described eminent domain as a last resort for pipeline projects.
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company → describe → projects
Why the case matters
The dispute raises questions about whether state authority should be used to help a private corporation secure land for infrastructure that mainly benefits its own operations.
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that → matter → operations
Thompson argued that eminent domain is generally meant to serve a public use, not the needs of one private business.
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domain → argue → business
The case also reflects a wider tension between data-centre growth and rural communities.
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case → reflect → growth
As companies build large facilities that require substantial electricity, water, and fuel infrastructure, nearby landowners may face pressure to sell or alter land that has been farmed for generations.
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that → build → generations
The pipeline would support a natural gas-powered facility for the data centre, potentially locking in additional polluting infrastructure as communities weigh the costs of rapid industrial expansion.
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communities → support → expansion
What happens next
For the Luidhardts, the reported reroute offers reassurance, but it does not fully close the issue.
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it → happen → issue
Jon Luidhardt said he wants to see the updated filing before treating the matter as resolved, and he also wanted the case tested in court.
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case → say → court
Thompson’s intervention did not produce a court ruling, but it appears to have contributed to the company’s decision to pursue a different route.
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it → produce → route
He argued that public scrutiny can change corporate behaviour, saying that when the issue is highlighted, companies often find another way forward.
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companies → argue → way
The outcome is a partial victory for the family, but it also illustrates the uncertainty many landowners face when major infrastructure projects approach their property.
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projects → illustrate → property
A pipeline route can shift, offers can be substantial, and legal challenges may not always result in a formal ruling, yet they can still influence the final decision.
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they → shift → decision
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
