Owning a home is said to be the American dream, but what happens when someone tries to takes that dream from you? Some Washington County residents are gearing up to fight eminent domain.

"At 83 years old and at this stage of my life, I didn't think I was going to be fighting a land war,” said Elizabeth Thompson.

Thompson, her daughter and granddaughter are taking on the Florida Gas and Transmission Company in hopes of saving their homes.

Property owner Nan Thompson says the company is gearing up to exercise their right of eminent domain to build a 500 mile gas pipeline that will stretch from Texas to south Florida.

“If they take the proposed 100 feet it would cut our property exactly in half. Not only will it take two homes and a well, it will take a permanent 50 feet and then we will have to allow easement for power lines and so on."

The project is called the Florida Gas Transmission Phase 8. It affects about 12 properties in Washington County.

Officials say compensation payment may come down the line, but Thompson says currently there are no plans in place to pay land owners.

"For a private company to come in and take people's land without compensations and disrupt lives, I just feel really threatened by it."

Residents say they shouldn't have to pay to supply energy to people hundreds of miles away.

"I understand the need for energy, but at what cost? This is a private company coming in who will make billions of dollars from this in the end at the cost of us, the small people who are just losing their land."

And even after losing their right to their property, residents will still be required to maintain all assessments on the confiscated land.

"I'm livid that they can do this and we are required to pay the taxes on their land, and we can't do anything with it. We can't put structure or a tree the only thing we can do is put a cow on it to graze."

FGT officials say construction will begin in 2010, but currently their plans are not set in stone. They also say they will use eminent domain as a last resort.

Thompson will present the data she's collected about the project to the Washington County Commission at Thursday's meeting.