Minnesota is no stranger to high voltage transmission line projects. But for many landowners, having to experience the impacts of such a project on their real property is very new. Not only can one’s thoughts and concerns about the impacts of such a project to their property be overwhelming, but so too is the eminent domain process the utility company will employ to acquire their necessary easements.
If you are a property owner that will be potentially impacted you have no doubt heard of this Project. The Minnesota Energy Connection Project proposed by Xcel Energy involves a double-circuit 345 kilovolt transmission line between the retiring Sherco coal plant near Becker, MN, and Lyon County in southwest Minnesota (“Project”). The line is designed to bring wind energy from southern and southwest regions of the State and connect with the existing grid in Becker, MN. You have likely received notice and invites to attend public informational meeting and been provided information related to the utility company’s effort to seek necessary approvals and permitting from the Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”).
Right of way for the Minnesota Energy Connection Project will need to be acquired. Once the Minnesota Energy Connection Project receives its approvals from the PUC and its route is established, and sometimes even before the route is established for projects such as this, the property owner will be approached by Xcel Energy or a representative thereof to discuss the acquisition of any easement rights Xcel has determined it needs for construction of the Project. If property owners and Xcel Energy are unable to reach an agreement on appropriate compensation for the easement, Xcel would have the power to initiate eminent domain proceedings, also referred to as condemnation proceedings, against property owners with whom no agreement has been reached.
The eminent domain process may sound quite scary, as is the idea of being sued in general, but it is important to remember that the eminent domain process is in place to protect property owners as much as anything else. The eminent domain process requires property owners to be paid just compensation for property rights acquired from them. After commencing the eminent domain process with a Petition, which is to be served on property owners, the district court appoints a panel of commissioners experienced with the value of real estate in your area to determine the amount property owners should be compensated. These hearings tend to be more informal than court and the commissioner panel is often made up of experienced appraisers, real estate agents, auctioneers, local real estate lawyers, or other professionals familiar with the value of real estate in your area.
The damages to one’s property from this Minnesota Energy Connection Project or high voltage transmission line (“HVTL”) projects like it can be as unique as the property itself. Of course, there are direct damages to the easement area associated with the utility company’s rights to use the area and restrictions on the property owner’s use thereof. But there can also be what’s known as severance damages to the remaining surrounding portions of your property and any nearby improvements to the property. The amount of severance damage can depend on proximity of the Minnesota Energy Connection Project to improvements and structures, the location or path of the HVTL relative to the property lines, the size of the easement, ingress and egress rights, the size of poles or other infrastructure and the visibility of the infrastructure from your surrounding property, the use of the property or potential uses of the property, existing easements impacting the property, removal of trees from the easement area, and much, much more.
Minnesota has adopted some additional protections and rights for property owners impacted by HVTLs. Minnesota has adopted a law known at the Buy-the-Farm statue which allows owners of certain types of property to compel the utility company to buy the entire property or areas designated by the property owner in fee. The property must be contiguous to the easement area and commercially viable property. If you live on the property and are displaced as a result of your decision to compel the utility company to buy your home, you are entitled to benefits under the Federal Uniform Relocation Act and are entitles to receive minimum compensation as defined by Minnesota law. These entitlements were litigated before the Minnesota Supreme Court in connection with the CAPX 2020 HVTL project. Our office represented over 100 impacted property owners across numerous counties in connection with CAPX 2020 project.
In summary, eminent domain is not a process to be afraid of, but it is a process in which property owners would greatly benefit from counsel from competent and experienced eminent domain attorneys. Our office has decades of experience representing property owners impacted by all sorts of public projects, including but not limited to HVTLs, pipelines, road projects, construction of public buildings or facilities, flood control projects such the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Project, and many others.