This blog focuses primarily upon remedies that property owners enjoy when confronted with the use of eminent domain against them. However, it is also interesting to be abreast of issues that could result in greater use of condemnation in the future.

Four authors, Avi Zevin, Sam Walsh, Justin Gundlach, and Isabel Carey, collaborated to publish Building a New Grid without New Legislation: A Path to Revitalizing Federal Transmission Authorities in Ecology Law Quarterly. The article asserts that “there is now broad agreement (if not a consensus) that new long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines will be indispensable if the United States is to integrate enough renewable energy generation to decarbonize the electric system in a timely manner, and to do so cost-effectively.” The authors assert that while new legislation would be the best way to facilitate the creation of new transmission lines, it is not the only way. They go on to discuss (in 72 pages) how the use of existing legislation could allow the creation of those transmission lines despite existing legal challenges. 

While this is a technical, academic discourse about the state of the law, it is most interesting to me because it acknowledges the need to create more transmission lines to support things like wind turbines and solar farms. Of course, acquiring those property rights would involve use of eminent domain.

I have been involved in many projects acquiring new utility lines, including electrical transmission and various pipelines. I have observed many property owners (who I did not represent) convey more rights than were necessary while being paid less money than clients that I represented. For example, I have seen property owners sell the right to construct multiple lines or pipelines for less than my clients were paid when the right to construct a single line was acquired.

Long story short, if a utility company requests property rights, engaging experienced eminent domain counsel can help you through the process.