How deep do I own?

While looking at the B&P alternitives the question came to mind- how deep do I own, and can someone build a tunnel under my land 150+ feet deep without compensation? Unlike much of the west, most eastern states do not have their mineral rights severed from the surface land owner, and I understand the concept of “pooling” gas and oil or even water under my land, but the B&P tunnel looks like it will have to pass under a lot of private property. They plan to use street rights-of-way, but it won’t be enough. Are they going have to get an easement from each and everyone the pass under? That will keep the lawyers off the streets for a while.

Mineral rights concern exploring for minerals. A railroad tunnel, I would think, would be much like obtaining a surface easment, and the RR would have to negotiate an easment, or pursue eminent domain.

In theory, you own to the center of the earth unless you live in a state w/ legislated alternative ideas like Iowa (weird - underground utility cronyism at its worst) that have yet to be tested. Common law says somebody is buying you an easement check at some point.

Just be aware, Maryland has some funky real estate laws. I’m not a real estate lawyer, Maryland or otherwise, but things can be very different there.

If everybody owned to the center of the earth, wouldn’t everyone’s lot taper down to a point when it reached the center of the earth?

Maryland has a device known as ‘Ground Rents’, wherein someone other than the bulding owner owns the ground the building is built on. The owner of the building then pays ‘ground rent’ at a stated amount to the land owner. There are procedures for the ground being rented to be purchased by the building owner. I am told this real eastate practice dates back pre-Colonial times.

Other properties, where the land is included with the building(s) are termed to be bought in fee simple.

How all this realates to the B&P and/or Howard Street tunnels is all open to question.

[swg]

Flat Earther, you…So? The great god Terminus has been warned about your type.

We have an area on an island near here that has such an arrangement. You own the house, the association owns the land it sits on…

No, he is not a Flat Earther! He is right that the cubic property would be in a cone shape because the earth is not flat, but spherical.

Yes, but …it wouldn’t be cone shaped, it would be pyramid shaped, unless your lot is round. [:-,]

[X-)]…But somebody won’t concede the pyramid spike and is alarmed by the concept. Wait till he has to deal with geoids, major and minor axis’, and the fact that the earth wobbles.

Maybe so–but I am not going down there erect a fence–it’s hot enough up here!

Well just remember that if you build the maximum size house that your lot will allow for the surface plat, the basement will have to be slightly tapered as it descends.

Quite true–however, if my daughter and I decide to build a cellar beneath my downstairs apartment, we could make a huge one–the lot is about three times the length of the house and about twice the distance from front to rear as the house is–and not worry about having to taper. Some of the lots up here at the Top of the Avenues are much deeper than ours because of the topography–and not as wide; there are some quite steep grades up here.

Think of the cooling costs the nearer you get to you-know-where. I think that Beelzebub may require a permit of some kind, not to mention the Morlocks. They can be bastards, so I’m told. But! There’s supposed to be a really nice bar down there, only it never opens.

Be careful if you taper the sub basement too much there might not be enough room for the sub.

So, dig a hole to China and about halfway down, try not to trespass on every other property on earth.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/27585/could-you-really-dig-hole-china

I would recommend hiring Gnomes, they are the fastest tunnelers but beware, I hear they have a strong labor union and disputes can lead to your building mysteriously being swallowed up by sinkholes

[:-,]

OK- that explains what happens when the tommy-knockers go bad.

I have always assumed that those little grey guys that those strange guys from MUFON are always talking about are Morlocks. That would explaing the grey pasty skin that never sees the sun and those huge eyes for seeing in the dark. Being short would also be an advantage for underground dwellers.

Now that I think about it, it would also explain why they always seem to come out at night when people have been drinking.