Off-Grid Man Jailed For Confronting Utility Company
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 06. 5.06
In the Pittsburgh area, a man went to jail rather than let the local power company run an electric line through his property. He's also in some hot water for refusing to connect to the local sewer system. Although he’s repeatedly lost in criminal court, William Williams, 76, of Cecil, vows to continue removing the guy wire and its anchor in his yard each time the power company replaces them. For Mr. Williams, it’s all a matter of civil disobedience. He said he refuses to surrender his property rights to the utilities.
He served 26 days in jail this year for his wire-cutting actions, with more jail time expected in subsequent charges.
It's all part of Mr. Williams' campaign to declare himself free from all public utilities in a case of independent spirit vs. public utility, private rights vs. public service. But the battle has escalated. Mr. Williams has dug a five-foot hole in his yard to remove the guy-wire anchor. And he knows the likely result: More charges, more jail time. "I don't bother anyone. Why should they bother me?" he said. But Allen Staggers, manager of corporate communications for Allegheny Power, said all power company facilities, including guy wires, were on rights of way the company has purchased. With old lines, the right-of-way agreement could have been reached decades ago.
"It's dangerous for people to tamper with our equipment, whether it is a live wire or a guy wire," he said. "[A utility pole] is big, it's heavy and you don't want to compromise the integrity of it. It can result in a power outage or someone getting hurt." Mr. Williams uses no public utilities at his house on Reissing Road and vows never to use any. He's neither wired, plugged in, tapped in nor in the pipeline.
A self-proclaimed arch enemy of utility companies, he said, he stands determined to show the world how to stretch a dollar, reduce reliance on foreign oil and live the simple life. He also vows to fight for the right to refuse to use any public utilities.So the man, who dons a trademark orange tassel cap, said he was proud to be off the grid, despite efforts by some utility companies to force him to tap into their lines.
His anti-utility philosophy has landed him in hot water.He's faced charged three times for cutting the guy wire securing an Allegheny Power utility pole to his property. After each conviction, he's refused to pay restitution, court costs and fines on claims the company is encroaching on his property. "I won't put up with it," he said. "I'm hard-headed." Cost is the main reason he weaned himself from public utilities. He retired from Homestead Valve in 1974 and lives on his Social Security check and a $198-a-month pension.
But he said he preferred living without utilities because they are monopolies whose policies and prices threaten one's property rights and financial independence. Rather than tap into a public waterline, he collects rainwater from his roof gutters in a holding tank. The water flows through a filter into a basement sink. He uses a septic system, despite the fact Cecil has a public sewage system. He's placed solar panels in the windows of his beige brick house to power a rechargeable battery for limited electricity. For nine months, he refused to pay a service charge for electricity because, he said, he was using none. Finally, Allegheny Power removed the electrical lines. Mr. Williams uses propane, kerosene and wood for what little heat he needs. Owning neither a clothes washer nor dryer, he does his laundry in a bucket of filtered water and dries it on a backyard clothesline.
He recently gave away his unused refrigerator, preferring to store perishable food in his cool basement. He never watches television but does listen to a battery-powered radio. Natural gas lines never were installed on his property. And he has no telephone. With no utility lines or pipes attached to his house, Mr. Williams is an island of independence in a world of interconnection.
"You have to learn to stretch dollars, and they will stretch," he said. He cut the guy wire the first time because, he said, he kept tripping over it while collecting berries in his yard. Cecil police cited him for criminal mischief, intentionally damaging property, negligence and reckless endangerment.
But District Judge Valarie Costanzo, of Cecil, dismissed the charges after advising him not to repeat the misdeed. The second time he cut the wire, he pleaded guilty to the charges and paid $400. He was sentenced to serve 19 days in the Washington County Jail, 17 of which he served after refusing to pay all costs, fines and restitution. Before that, he served seven days in jail for failing to respond to a court order in the case.
The most recent criminal case against Mr. Williams was transferred from Judge Costanzo's jurisdiction to that of District Judge Jay Weller in North Strabane, who found Mr. Williams guilty of the same four charges and assessed him $827 in fines, costs and restitution. Refusing to pay, Mr. Williams said he expected more jail time.
He contends Allegheny Power has no right to use his property to secure its pole because the guy wire and anchor are not within the company's right of way. He said the rights of way were not listed on his deed. But Allegheny Power officials said the company owned the right of way, or it would not have installed the guy wire and anchor. He could face even more problems if he doesn't tap into the public sewer system. Its officials could file a lien against his property if he doesn't connect.
For Mr. Williams, it's all a matter of civil disobedience. He said he refuses to surrender his property rights to the utilities. "I don't owe [Allegheny Power] anything, and I'm not going to pay," he said. "They were on my property, and their right of way ends right here."
This guy rocks!
I agree with his sentiments, but I assume since the judges are finding against him that the utility company does own the right of way and is therefore legally allowed to put up their equipment. I doubt if he was right, and that the utility company had no right to do what they're doing, that the judges would have found in his favor.
Keep the fight alive, man! I actually support him. Since he doesn't even use any of those services, he shouldn't have to allow the encroachment on his property, unless, hah, they actually pay him for the trouble they cause. I may be thinking about this too simplistically, but I say if I were in his place, I'd demand to be compensated by a company (whose services I don't even use) encroaching on my property at least.
Hey, I'm sympathetic to the guy. But being totally off the grid is a bit much.
I mean, we can't even send him an e-mail or PayPal the guy a few bucks for his legal defense fund or whatever.
It is also a bit contrary to the "declaration of interdependence" concept. Not that I advocate depending on utilities; I cut my cable TV a few years ago and have never looked back. I hope to do the same with either gas or electric (but not both), at some point. But no phone? No internet? Nothing?
Total isolation is not a good philosophy, IMHO.
Disregarding for the moment whether or not the utility providers own a right of way, I can't imagine that it would be worth their time to continue pressing charges on an old man that is not using any of their services and refuses to pay any retitution. The PR on this situation can be good. I mean, I know I certainly think they're jerks.
Someone ought to get in touch with this guy and let him know we all support him. I dont like the logic of "We must have had the right of way or we would not have put the wire up" I'm sure the utility company could come to a compromise with him if they wanted to; supporting the pole without having a guywire which he'll trip over. He seems to be simply concerned that its interfering with his lifestyle.
Lynn and Rajio, the utility company has the right to put their equipment there. They have the right of way. The court says so.
Just because this guy doesn't like them doesn't give him the legal right to destroy their property.
I have a great uncle (now deceased) who was similar to Mr. Bill in this article. The prefectural government condemned about a 30x30 parcel of his property for a road. My uncle never cashed the check, and every time the government tried to build a road through his little corner of paradise, my uncle fired up the bulldozer and tore the pavement up. This fight went on for something like thirty years.
I can't help but wonder if the power company would have moved or removed the guy wire if he had simply asked. He could have said that it was a hazard to his saftey.
The sewage connection is just plan ridiculous though. As long as you have a properly functioning leach bed and septic tank, you shouldn't be required to hook up to city sewage. A lot of people don't have the kind of money to do that anyways.
But then again, the city might be uptight about the sewage because in that part of pennsyvania there are some people whose sewage empties into holes to the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines underneath everyones feet. My aunt lives in this area and had a battle with several neighbors whose sewage drained directly in a stream near her property. Those neighbors fought the utilities too, but they were definitly in the wrong, and were forced to connect.
fired up the bulldozer
Uh, guess we all need to keep that handy bulldozer around, then!
Eminent domain is a tricky issue. I'm generally against it, but then again if it is used to install cables to connect to a wind farm, I'm sure I would support it (so long as the route chosen wasn't needlessly destructive).
I do agree with K that, regardless of the legal situation, the potential cost of image damage probably is greater than the cost of finding a technical alternative.
This guy almost makes me proud to say I live in the same area. Almost. The utility companies around here have been known to be vicious. I know in my area, they keep coming up with new plans for sewage that would cost my grandma every bit of her social security check. All the senior citizens are bitter about it. Glad he is sticking up for himself, that's all that matters.
But the electric company has a monopoly. So they don't really care if this issue damages their image - people will go on "needing" to buy their product no matter what.
"But no phone? No internet? Nothing? Total isolation is not a good philosophy, IMHO."
There is this brand new invention. It's called talking to people in real life. The company that invented it claims that it's great for avoiding total isolation
lives on his Social Security check and a $198-a-month pension
He may be off the utility grid, but he's still hooked into the financial grid.
I'm really not sure why everyone is so excited to support this guy. The resistance to recognition of interdepedence is one of basic barriers to greening our culture. This guy is refusing to acknowledge interdependence with his community and the services they all rely on. How green is that?
G.E.,
when 'interdependence' is unnecessary, indeed, abusive, standing up to the Man is indeed a 'green' thing to do.
This guy is a hero. Seriously. How many people would have the gumption to do what he is doing - fight a monopoly AND the state.
Just because the state says the power company has the right to invade this guy's space, that doesn't make it right.
And "total isolation" may not be a good philosophy in your opinion, Alonso, but recognize that for what it is: your opinion. Besides, the guy is not in total isolation; he says he wants to teach people to stretch their dollars. Refusing to connect to the grid doesn't equal isolation.
We should be emulating this guy to whatever extent our personal circumstances allow.
Frankly, I'm surprised the jutice department hasn't labeled the guy a "terrorist" because he damaged part of the electrical delivery infrastructure. I'm sure Gitmo Gonzales is on it.
I cannot understand why some are condeming this man for "refusing to acknowledge interdependence with his community and the services they all rely on". The article indicates nothing about his personal connections with his friends, family, or community of life. Support this man for living a far greener life than one that powers the webpage we are all posting on.
This guy's no hero. It's one thing to 'go off the grid' and no one's persecuting him for doing so. His trouble is because he's attempting to take others off the grid -- know what would happen if that guy wire were cut and the pole went? (Maybe the retired lady down the road needs electricity for her oxygen, or a family needs it to keep their kids warm.)
The only 'off the grid' thing he's had trouble with is sewer. That's a public health issue, people shouldn't be dumping sewage into the earth, it should be going to a treatment plant (a green one, hopefully).
We're all citizens of this world, that means we give rights of way to utility companies - evil or not - so that our fellow human being may have the energy and access to public health they need.
I respectfully acknowledge your reguard for human life, but the article is not specific about the effects of cutting that guy wire on that pole in relation to other families. My concern is that allowing utility companies, evil or not, the right of way because of real or hypothetical public health issues always gives them the right of way. Should we allow clear cuts because the lumber may go to build housing for low income families in rough neighborhoods? How far removed from the human element do utilities or large corporations have to be before the answer to their actions is an unequivocal "no"?
The article isn't specific about the ramifications of his cutting guy-lines, never-the-less it's easy to figure out.
Your lumber for the poor analogy would be more appropriate if it went this way: Should we allow lumber to get to poor neighborhoods if it means going past our own home on a road the city had a right-of-way to build? Or block it because we ourselves do not want the building materials.
But let's have an uprising, and not honor right-of-ways for basic utilities (electrical, heat, water), then sit back and watch the natural resources get eaten up by the need to put down many more miles of pipes and wires and more power poles (made from trees) etc., in order to go around the homes of people who do not want to honor their role in the fabric of our society.
Oh, and we'll need more electricity production as well to cover the extra distance on inefficient power line routes.
"Just because this guy doesn't like them doesn't give him the legal right to destroy their property."
Just because the utility company puts their property on his property doesn't give them the legal right to do so. I think the judge and the company are wrong, and if he knew the laws better he'd take this to appeals court.
As romantic it may sound to some people, the idea you can live "off the grid" is totally out of touch with reality. We live in a world full of other people and we have to make compromises. The man in this article benefits in innumerable ways from his community, it is only reasonable that he share some responsibility with the community by allowing the power line to run through his property.
You know, this man or someone very kind could make a simple trip to the county court house just to check up on who really owns rights. Many times people can convey property they do not own to others and this tends to go unnoticed by the county. Though if everything does check out right there really isn't much he can do legally. I hope this situation can work out with him on the benefiting side.
I don't understand all the concern about his septic system. The article doesn't discuss whether or not his septic system is set-up properly or not. If it is set-up properly, then there should be no environmental concerns.
Bill is a cool guy and the law should be changed Don B. don't you think? He made the first step and I stand up for him.
I don't know if the guy is right to cut the guy line, but he could just trip over it and hurt himself and sue the power company.
All this debate over whether the lines are legal or illegal misses the point. When you don't like the law, you lobby to change it. When you intentionally break the law in protest, it's called "civil disobediance" as stated in the article. Saying "he shouldn't do it, it's illegal" is automatically caving in to the notion that all laws are just. DMCA, anyone?
I live about 10 miles from Bill. I've never heard of this until now. I will print out this article and responses next week and send them to him along with a letter. I support him 100%. I'm sick of govt of, by, and for the corporations and the almighty $$.
What an idiot. He's just a cheap old fart who's trying to take a political stance to cover up his bitterness for a life that has been squandered away rubbing sticks together to make a flame instead of spending a dollar to buy a lighter. Trust me, I've known guys like this and he's not the political firecracker that you might think he is. They all die bitter with family members that are glad to see them go. FWIW, I work at a factory that used to be full of guys like this. Spending all their time and energy doing anything they can to avoid giving away any of their precious money. Bitching and moaning about their kids using too much toilet paper and filling their cereal bowls too full with milk. The only good thing that has come of my time with jerks like this is that I know how NOT to live my life.
That power line delivers the current to charge the cellphone of the next-door neighbor who will inevitably call 911 when this goon is begging for help.
I don't know if it is so laudable to believe in such absolute ownership of property that one ignored the law. There never was any such level of ownership in America and it may set a self-serving selfish view of ones rights. Plus, he bought the property with the right of way on it, so he is basically trying to steal something that was paid for. I am not so sure this is something we should praise.
As green as he may be I think the issue has more to do with the choice to opt out of the status quo. Its not so hard to live without electricity or a phone. It is very difficult to live w/ those who don't. Mountain Men have no unified voice in society. It may just be a guy wire but it sustains someone else and so it is an impossion just the same. One of the few he can get a shovel around.
This man is my hero, right up there with Jabar Gibson, the teenager who stole a school bus to ferry people out of New Orleans after Katrina.
haha sweet
While I like this man for his independance and ability to sustain himself by his own means, it seems a small concession to allow a guy wire for electricity to be put down on your property. It seems to me that his personal issues with utilities are guiding his actions more than any particular complaint about the effect of the guy wire. I have often wondered about just how much somone can exist outside of civilization in this age of big government. The answer is, as much as it doesn't infringe on the making of money.
The problem is that the utility company and government could be working together to ensure that this land is protected for them by "right of way".
None the less if he has his original title to the land it should clear it up.
That being said, I strongly believe that if his septic system is safe to the environment then good for him. If more of us were like him this world would be a better place. We wouldn't be dependent on power from coal, damming or nuclear. We wouldn't have to have nasty plants cleaning our sewage before dumping it in the ocean. If we all were more self reliant living off of our land, in a way that respects nature this world would be much cleaner and we would have more respect for it.
Getting off of the grid does not mean you have to be unconnected. You could have a small community windfarm, or your own solar panels, wind farm, or hydro power that does not require a damn.
There are toilettes that can recylcle human waste cleanly, efficiently and don't smell or hurt nature. Heat pumps and geo-thermal can provide heating and cooling.
Am I on the grid, yes, because I can not afford to be off of it. But I am saving my $$$ and plan to make it there one day.
Keep up the good fight.
Trevor
Where I live we have these things called buried power lines. They are pretty spiffy. Perhaps Allegheny Power Utility should look into it.
Anyone want to get a copy of his deed? Even if the utility is off the ROW, there still may be an easement. This is what I suspect since I can not easily accept that a Judge doesn't know the law. I am happy that William is living "off the grids" but this man drinks filtered rain water, lives off non perishable food + in season foods, and uses a solar powered battery for his entertaining devices. So why does he care about tripping over someone elses wire? Now that I think about it... Maybe Jail ~ his Home. I admire the man given that i'm content when its hot outside and i'm not using the ac.
He should request the easement the companies have on his properties. If they are not signed or expired or are cancelled when he bought the property, then he is scott free! Even though it is his property, if a company has a legitimate easement, then they have the right to instal their services. Have a property lawyer look over these documents. I work at a college and we've forced utilities to get their crap off our land via expired easements.
Someone should start a fund for him to pay for his legal fees!! Buy a domain like www.savewilliamsland.com so people can go to read his story and view scanned in easements and legal documents. Also have a donation area where funds can be sent to someone he trusts with a PayPal account.
good for him !
If I was in the USA I'd cut the wire for him.
It's nice to see America still has some rebels left.
I was beginning to think you lot kissed a$$ all day long
I am in complete support of this man but he will lose in court. The utilities really shouldn't bother him and just wait till he dies or moves on.
Someone needs to start a legal fund for this man, he sure could use it.
Anyone know your Latin? There's a phrase that I'm totally going to mangle here, so if you know the real phrase then help me out: Mobile En Mobilis. Free in a Free World. That is what this man is trying to be. It what the state and the utilities want to deny him. And didn't the SCOTUS recently rule that the rich can seize the land of the poor if it serves the needs of the rich?
No more. I think it's time to start watering the tree of liberty once again. Not for the liberals, not for the neo-cons, not for the rich - but for the people.
I would like to see evidence that the power company tried to attempt a reasonable compromise. I doubt it. Good on him - my dad in Australia has one of those huge power lines with massive poles and several strand running straight past his house and it makes an awful buzzing noise. They could have built it more than 10 metres from his house without considerable expense.
BTW - The line "He could face even more problems if he doesn't tap into the public sewer system" could be changed to "He could be in even deeper shit if he doesn't tap into the public sewer system". I commend the author for resisting such obvious puns - I cannot.
Could the power company not simply route the cable around his property and save everyone the aggravation of lawsuits, cut wires, jail time, etc?
Personally, I feel what he's saying. Its his place. On the other hand, if he really fully wants to be off the grid, move into the woods. Then there's really no jail time, sewer pipes, guy wires, etc.
An inspiration to us all.
Big business don't like it when little guys prove they can get along without.
How long before this thing turns into another Ruby Ridge or Waco?