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

[Mark Solomon]

I hope not as Prop 2 does not amend the state constitution where 
Simplot's ability to take someone's land comes from.

Mark

At 7:13 PM +0000 8/15/06, david sarff wrote:
>Could this be a purposeful diversion confuser to persuade fence 
>walkers to vote for Prop 2?
>
>D Sarff
>
>>
>>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."
>>
>>---