Randy Inman
Jingo's Ruminations
Kim K.
Eminent Domain Revisited
July 17th 2008 19:37
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our power company's plan to take private and conserved land for new powerlines.
A local organization was formed to fight the company. They have proposed alternate routes which will have a lesser impact on the environment and along areas already developed by other industrial services.
Today I attended the public hearing to see what my neighbors had to say.
My corner of the state has been highly developed in the past couple of decades. Several residents have been working hard to maintain some of the environmental integrity of our area.
What I found out is that all the volunteer work and all of the money that the townships have put in to trying to save some of our delicate lands may have been a waste of time.
The lines running through this land would in essence destroy the exact area that they have been fighting to save, not to mention take property from private citizens who have worked to build and maintain homes on quiet country roads.
I am not an "environmentalist" so to speak. I don't wear smelly sandles and hike on the weekends. I did grow up in the woods and love my peace and quiet. I have watched those woods erode over the years by people also seeking that quiet.
Now, neighbors are faced with not just other people coming in and tearing it down, but with huge powerlines running through their properties and a substation that could throw off the whole ecological balance of the county.
Our senator and local representatives have all sided with the people as have the townships. It may not matter in the end, as eminent domain could take it all away without the permission or consent of the people who live here. If the law decides that the route the power company wants to take is best for the "public good," than it does not matter how many senators or townspeople protest. As I've said before, that public good is a very subjective thing.
In Kelo vs the City of New London, the supreme court decided that someone the government can take anyone's home if they decide that someone else can make more money with it. Since then, most states have tried to put in safegaurds against abuse, but abuse is certainly prevenlent. Although there has been much success in fighting for property rights, utility companies most often get their way- even when there are other viable options available to them.
We won't find out until next year if the power company plan will go through, and until then I'm going to enjoy as much of our land as I can while I can.
A local organization was formed to fight the company. They have proposed alternate routes which will have a lesser impact on the environment and along areas already developed by other industrial services.
Today I attended the public hearing to see what my neighbors had to say.
My corner of the state has been highly developed in the past couple of decades. Several residents have been working hard to maintain some of the environmental integrity of our area.
What I found out is that all the volunteer work and all of the money that the townships have put in to trying to save some of our delicate lands may have been a waste of time.
The lines running through this land would in essence destroy the exact area that they have been fighting to save, not to mention take property from private citizens who have worked to build and maintain homes on quiet country roads.
I am not an "environmentalist" so to speak. I don't wear smelly sandles and hike on the weekends. I did grow up in the woods and love my peace and quiet. I have watched those woods erode over the years by people also seeking that quiet.
Now, neighbors are faced with not just other people coming in and tearing it down, but with huge powerlines running through their properties and a substation that could throw off the whole ecological balance of the county.
Our senator and local representatives have all sided with the people as have the townships. It may not matter in the end, as eminent domain could take it all away without the permission or consent of the people who live here. If the law decides that the route the power company wants to take is best for the "public good," than it does not matter how many senators or townspeople protest. As I've said before, that public good is a very subjective thing.
picture compliments castlecoalition.org
In Kelo vs the City of New London, the supreme court decided that someone the government can take anyone's home if they decide that someone else can make more money with it. Since then, most states have tried to put in safegaurds against abuse, but abuse is certainly prevenlent. Although there has been much success in fighting for property rights, utility companies most often get their way- even when there are other viable options available to them.
We won't find out until next year if the power company plan will go through, and until then I'm going to enjoy as much of our land as I can while I can.
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