Oil companies say they hope to avoid using eminent domain on Nikiski land
“The oil companies and the state say they hope to avoid using the power of eminent domain to acquire land in Nikiski for what could be a $20 billion gas liquefaction plant on 400 to 600 acres, the most costly industrial complex in Alaska outside of the North Slope.
But the state has already signaled that it will force recalcitrant landowners to sell in situations where the project needs land, under terms of an agreement signed early this year by the Parnell administration and the oil companies.
The Heads of Agreement between the state and the oil companies says state support for the Alaska LNG project will include “the use of eminent domain rights to facilitate implementation of the Alaska LNG project” and that the governor will draft and support “legislation where necessary.”
There are limits on the use of eminent domain for economic development, but there are exceptions, and the Legislature has the authority to create new ones, a situation reflected in the language approved in the Heads of Agreement.”
Cole, Dermont. Alaska Dispatch News 4 October 2014.