Some Basic Information on Eminent Domain

Why 300 feet is so important

There has been a LOT of discussion about what rights landowners have regarding keeping their property whole, and what rights the utility company has to our property according to our state. This is a quick overview/summary and I am not a legal expert/attorney/paralegal/etc. I’m just sharing what I’ve learned so far.

Here’s the big one: Utility companies in Maine cannot take property using eminent domain if the property is within 300 feet of an inhabited dwelling. There are a couple of takeaways from this.

1 - your house is safe.

2 - any land outside of the 300 foot radius is fair game. This explains the constraints of the proposed routes - LS Power needed to make sure the transmission line paths weren’t within 300 feet of a house.

3 - I haven’t found the legal definition of an “inhabited dwelling”. Does this mean your camp is safe? I think so but I’m not 100% certain.

This is one of the reasons why LS Power wants landowner’s input to the route. If they learn that the house you built last year is within 300 feet of a line, they need to change the route. If you have plans to build a house within 300 feet of a proposed transmission line, they might need to change the route. LS Power needs to have the route finalized before they submit for a permit from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Finding out that there’s a house right in the middle of a path after they submit for a permit would cause some problems, but we can’t say for certain what the outcome would be.

There’s another term that was mentioned in a meeting with LS Power that causes route issues: Orchard. Apparently, orchards can’t have power lines run directly overhead. We don’t know why yet, and one of our members is trying to look into this specifically. We’ll let you know what it means when we find out. But while we don’t know yet what the legal definition of orchard is as it relates to running power lines, we’re pretty certain that timber doesn’t qualify as orchard. Maple trees used for sugaring? I don’t know, the answer is maybe.

Bottom line - LS Power wants this transmission line. The government of Maine wants this transmission line. LS Power will negotiate with landowners about easements for the path they need to build the transmission line. Landowners can say no if the route is within 300 feet of their home. If a landowner says no and the route is more than 300 feet from their home, eminent domain may be used and the route will be placed regardless of the landowners wishes. There may be some other factors that would limit LS Power’s ability to use land against landowner’s wishes, but we don’t know what they are yet.

I hope this makes eminent domain a little clearer.