BLUEGRASS PIPELINE OFFICIALS, OPPONENTS ADDRESS LEGISLATORS
“The question of eminent domain took center stage at a legislative hearing Thursday, when State Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Len Peters said the companies proposing to bring a natural gas liquids pipeline through Kentucky do not have such power.
Peters said the cabinet’s legal counsel has determined Bluegrass Pipeline does not have the right of eminent domain, the process whereby private property may be condemned for public use.
Michael Haines, legal counsel for the department, said natural gas liquids pipelines are not considered “public utilities.”
“Based on this research relative to federal law and statutes relative to how natural gas liquids pipelines are regulated, they (legal counsel) do not see how eminent domain can be invoked,” Peters said.
But Michael McMahon, chief general counsel for Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, one of the companies seeking to develop the pipeline, said it is a “public service.””
Quinn, Ryan. THe State Journal 5 Septmeber 2013.