Eminent domain

The site selected for the new South Dakota State Penitentiary in Lincoln County. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Landowners sue to put prison site in front of county zoning board

BY: - November 6, 2023

The state should ask for Lincoln County’s permission before building a new prison there, according to a lawsuit from a group of landowners. The lawsuit was filed in Lincoln County late last week by a recently formed group called “Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion” — or the acronym NOPE for short — as well as […]

Brian Jorde, at right, and Ryan Cwach, attorneys for opponent landowners, participate in a Public Utilities Commission hearing July 25, 2023, in Fort Pierre on the permit application for the proposed Heartland Greenway carbon dioxide pipeline. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Defying the odds: Meet the attorney for 1,000 clients who beat two pipeline companies

BY: - November 3, 2023

Brian Jorde said most people didn’t think he or his clients had much of a chance to stop a pair of carbon dioxide pipelines after the plans were announced two years ago. “‘You all are a nuisance. We all know this is getting permitted.’ That has been the attitude of these pipelines since day one, […]

South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke discusses eminent domain concerns during a press conference Oct. 12, 2023, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. The press conference was held to announce the launch of the South Dakotans First coalition. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

New property rights coalition plans to lobby for eminent domain restrictions

BY: - October 12, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — A statewide coalition has formed to pursue restrictions on the use of eminent domain for projects such as carbon dioxide pipelines.  The group introduced itself during a press conference Thursday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.  The politically diverse coalition, named South Dakotans First, consists of the South Dakota Farmers Union, Dakota […]

COMMENTARY
A sign opposing carbon dioxide pipelines stands along Interstate 90 in February 2023 in South Dakota, near the Minnesota border. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Noem’s actions speak louder than words on eminent domain

BY: - June 28, 2023

South Dakota Farmers Union policy supports landowners’ rights. Because of this, during the 2023 legislative session, we supported House Bill 1133. In a nutshell, the bill would have excluded carbon dioxide as a common carrier commodity. Unlike electricity, water or natural gas transported via pipelines, transporting highly pressured CO2 only benefits two private investor groups […]

Opponents of liquid carbon pipelines rally Nov. 9, 2022, in Cowles Commons in downtown Des Moines. (Kathie Obradovich/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Landowner battles against pipelines vary by state

BY: - May 13, 2023

Sprawling Midwestern pipelines that would carry captured carbon dioxide from ethanol plants and other facilities would change little when they cross state lines. The proposals would be constructed the same way in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas — with carbon steel pipe ranging from 4 to 24 inches in diameter with operating pressures […]

Craig Schaunaman, who farms thousands of acres near Aberdeen, looks out over his family farm. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

‘It’s about property rights’: Some farmers resent ethanol industry’s push for carbon pipelines

BY: - May 5, 2023

ABERDEEN — Craig Schaunaman, who farms thousands of acres, has been invested in the ethanol industry since its early days and even served on the board of an ethanol plant.  But a carbon-capture pipeline supported by dozens of ethanol plants would cross his land, and he’s against it, even though ethanol officials say the pipeline […]

The South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Legislative roundup: Pipelines and punishment

BY: - February 10, 2023

Aside from transgender health care, the big themes on the Searchlight radar this week were carbon pipelines and criminal justice. At least one media outlet used the term “Pipeline Monday” to describe the first day of the week that marked the halfway point of the main run of the 2023 legislative session. Half a dozen […]

Sen. Al Novstrup hears from Monica Meyer of Aberdeen during a gathering Jan. 18, 2023, at the Capitol where landowners and others pushed for tighter restrictions on eminent domain. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Landowners congregate in Capitol to push for tighter restrictions on eminent domain

BY: - January 18, 2023

PIERRE – Landowners and concerned citizens from around the state congregated Wednesday in the Capitol to advocate for protection from compulsory land acquisition, or eminent domain, and to support a bill limiting the practice. They criticized three projects planned in the state — two carbon capture pipelines and a pumped storage project — all of […]