Reject misguided bill on eminent domain
“Eminent domain, the right of a government to take, or to authorize the taking of, private property for public use with just compensation being given to the owner, is something nobody likes.
It’s infuriating for private property owners to have their land seized, even when they are getting a check. It’s a costly, time-sucking, project-stalling process for developers. And it’s something that takes place only after other negotiations fail.
While the motivations behind Sen. Debby Barrett’s Senate Bill 180, which could repeal eminent domain authority for merchant power line developers, are understandable, we urge lawmakers to reject it.
The Dillon Republican says the change will force developers to go out and negotiate with landowners.
Barrett said she objects to automatically giving eminent domain powers to a foreign-owned merchant line after the developer receives an environmental certificate from the state of Montana.
“If there is transmission in Montana that provides a public service for Montana, that’s one thing, but we still haven’t had a definition of what a merchant line is,” Barrett said.
Clearly, the bill is a reaction in part to the debacle the Canadian company Tonbridge Power, the original developer of the nearly complete transmission line, Montana Alberta Tie Line, started when attempting to negotiate with landowners in northcentral Montana for the U.S. portion of the line.”
Great Falls Tribune 18 February 2013.