17 June 2008
Petitions Filed in DM&E Domain Battle
Pierre South Dakota USA - A group trying to kill a
proposed law that speeds the hearing process in railroad eminent domain actions filed petitions Monday for a public vote.
The group, Protect Private Property, filed more than 19,500 signatures with Secretary of State Chris Nelson to refer to a vote SB174,
passed by the last Legislature. The law, scheduled to take effect 1 Jul 2008, would streamline the hearing process for
railroad condemnation cases in projects such as the coal-train line being proposed by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern
Railroad.
Nelson's office will do a random check of signatures to decide whether the petitions contain the 16,776 necessary for a referral. That
must be finished by 30 Jun 2008. If the petitions are approved, the law will be suspended until after the November vote.
Monday was the deadline for filing.
"Once you explain to people that we're trying to protect private property from being taken without proper procedures, it went
well," said Pat Arch Jacobs, a Pierre petition leader. "I was surprised at the number of people who didn't know exactly what
eminent domain is. When it was explained, they supported the petitions."
DM&E President Kevin Schieffer said whenever the railroad gets a chance to tell its story in public, it picks up support.
"The challenge in ballot cases, though, is getting a clear focus on the implications" of a referral and understanding what a
vote means, he said.
Jeremiah Murphy of Rapid City, who lobbied unsuccessfully against the change during the last session, coordinated the petition drive.
"Right now the system has protections for landowners and protections for the company," he said. "It's a balanced system.
This (law) would throw it out of balance. In effect, it would replace balance with bullying."
The last Legislature passed a bill to accelerate the hearing process. The change is linked to the attempt by the DM&E to build new
track to Wyoming coal fields as part of its $6 billion project to ship coal across South Dakota and Minnesota.
The railroad says it has been working with landowners to acquire rights of way but might need to use eminent domain, the power of
condemnation, in some areas.
A law passed in 1999 required railroads to have state approval to use condemnation. DM&E has for some time had a request for that
approval pending with the state Transportation Commission. The new law would set a 60-day limit for action on such
applications generally and, speaking to the DM&E case, a 30-day deadline from effective date of the new law for action
on any pending applications.
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