[Vision2020] how"real" eminent domain works in Idaho

[Mark Solomon]

This in from the Idaho State Journal in 
Pocatello. A clause in the Idaho Constitution 
allows timber and mining companies to take your 
private land for access purposes to theirs.

Mark

Aug 14, 3:33 AM EDT

Simplot suggests condemning land for mine access

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) -- Agribusiness 
conglomerate J.R. Simplot Co. may try to get a 
judge to condemn part of an eastern Idaho 
couple's 467-acre property so the company can 
build a road for a proposed expansion of its 
phosphate mine near here.

So far, Peter and Judy Riede have refused to sell 
rights-of-way to any portion of their land in 
rural Caribou County to Simplot. They say a haul 
road for ore from the Smoky Canyon Mine would 
damage their land, which has two creeks featuring 
20-inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout.

After the Riedes declined an offer of $2.1 
million from Simplot, the company suggested in 
public documents filed with the U.S. Forest 
Service that it could simply use 110-year-old 
provisions in the Idaho Constitution that give 
mining companies the right to cross private lands 
to reach their properties.

Simplot, which has $3 billion in annual revenue, 
also broached eminent domain in a June 9 letter 
to the couple. It asked them to reconsider the 
offer, and said if they didn't the company would 
"move forward with pursuing alternatives that 
allow Simplot to appropriately develop our 
phosphate mineral leases."

"We were sick. We were literally in shock," said 
Peter Riede, while casting a homemade fishing fly 
into Crow Creek. "We had no idea this was 
allowable under Idaho law."

In its review of Simplot's mine-expansion 
proposal, the U.S. Forest Service - which leases 
the mining land to the company - will likely pick 
the most cost-effective, least-destructive route 
allowing Simplot to reach its operation.

Since the agency is considering four proposed 
transportation routes, Simplot officials say the 
discussion of eminent domain is premature. Access 
through the Riede property is just one of several 
options, spokesman Rick Phillips said.

"In draft comments it was pointed out that 
eminent domain is a recognized Idaho 
constitutional vehicle that can be used," said 
Phillips. "Does that mean we're gearing up for 
eminent domain? Heavens no. The final draft has 
not been released yet."

Don Copple, a Boise-based lawyer, said eminent 
domain was likely used often by mining outfits in 
Idaho's early history, when the state was pushing 
development of its natural resources and 
lawmakers gave companies rights to help them 
extract minerals. Today, other private 
industries, including utilities, rely on eminent 
domain.

"Look at Idaho Power," Copple said. "They condemn 
for power lines all the time."

Conservation groups contend that Simplot would be 
subverting the law if it applied eminent domain 
in this case.

Marv Hoyt, Idaho director of the Greater 
Yellowstone Coalition, said the provision was 
added to the state constitution in the 1890s to 
protect small miners from larger operations that 
staked claims just to block access.

Now, he said, "The big Goliath is beating up on David."

The road would run from the mine to an existing 
milling site, where Simplot mixes phosphate ore 
with water and pipes it to a plant in Pocatello. 
The route at issue would cut through about 11 
acres of the Riedes property.

"This alternative would have the least amount of impact," Phillips said.

The Riedes say the impact will be significant. 
They hope to build a 3,000-square-foot home near 
the proposed road site.

"We had a lot of trouble finding the place we 
wanted," Peter Riede said. "Places like this are 
pretty hard to come by."

---

Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com

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