Two legislators oppose eminent domain for pipeline
“Two key Iowa lawmakers say they are opposing the use of eminent domain to obtain easements on private property to construct an 1,100-mile Bakken oil pipeline that would cross through 17 Iowa counties.
Sen. Robert Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, chairman of the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, vice chairman of the House Economic Growth Committee, say they are against the use of such government power for the pipeline project, but for different reasons.
Eminent domain is the authority of a government to take private property for public use in exchange for payment of fair market value.
The pipeline is proposed by Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas, Texas, which says it already has contracts to transport 320,000 barrels of oil per day from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields through South Dakota and Iowa to Patoka, Ill. The permanent easement for the pipeline across Iowa would be 50 feet wide, but the temporary construction corridor would be 100 to 150 feet wide.
The final decision on the project is up to the Iowa Utilities Board, but lawmakers could offer input into the decision-making process. Some Iowa farmers have already said they won’t voluntary sign easements to permit the pipeline to be buried on their property.”
Petroski, William. Des moines Register 30 August 2014.