Eminent domain: Easy for you to say
“Do you think you own your home because you bought the land, built the house and paid taxes on them both?
So did 200 of your neighbors in Augusta County, until Dominion Transmission announced it will take their land for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) using eminent domain.
Some overlook this seizure—perhaps the largest confiscation in Augusta County’s history—due to our need for energy. While it’s easy to support using eminent domain for the ACP when it’s not on your land, there are reasonable alternatives to build the pipeline without eminent domain; however, if Dominion continues as planned your neighbors will be seriously exploited.
Existing easements offer one alternative. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission mandates, “The use, widening, or extension of existing rights-of-way must be considered in locating proposed facilities.” A web of existing rights-of-way covers Virginia, providing multiple routes on which Dominion could co-locate almost the entire ACP without significantly lengthening it. Dominion itself owns the most promising route. Yet, because this law has no teeth, Dominion has no incentive to avoid taking more private property.”
Geary, Travis. News Leader 12 December 2014.