The owner of a self-serve auto recycling yard in Elmira says he is taking Woolwich Township to court.

Frank Rattasid filed an injunction against the township over a water pipe on his property that he says was put there illegally decades ago.

Rattasid bought the 12 acre parcel of land on Arthur Street North a few years ago and has since opened a U Pull It business.

He says before he purchased the property he ensured there were no easements on the land.

Now he is thinking of expanding his business but has run into some problems after he found out a municipal water pipe runs across the property, essentially blocking him from using more than five acres.

“I’m the only guy in Elmira saying please, please let me pay more taxes, let me use more of my land,” says Rattasid.

Rattasid says the township has made him a verbal offer of $120000 for the remaining seven acres of his property.

While the amount is likely the assessed value because the land is zoned open space, he feels he is being undervalued.

Rattasid hopes the injunction will either get the pipe moved or allow him to sell the portion of the land where the pipe sits.

A separate issue that may or may not become part of the injunction is the methane gas trapped below the ground.

The Bolender landfill was located on the property up until 1970 and now methane monitors surround the areas where garbage is believed to be buried.

Environmental activist Alan Marshall says a consultant produced a report that shows the property often has methane levels above the lower explosive limit.

CTV News has not been able to independently verify if the measurements are accurate.

Last August, the township told residents at a public meeting that the methane wasn’t a concern.

Methane isn’t usually considered dangerous as long as it's captured and the ground remains undisturbed.

However, Rattasid says recently the township wanted to install more methane probes on his property which drew his attention to the issue once again.

The township is now spending $75000 and is taking a number of steps in order to monitor the gas and create a passive collection trench.

Officials with Woolwich Township have declined to comment on the case and say it would be inappropriate since the matter is now before the courts.

A court date has been scheduled for September.