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--></style><title>how"real" eminent domain works in
Idaho</title></head><body>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Mark</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Aug 14, 3:33 AM EDT<br>
<br>
Simplot suggests condemning land for mine access<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.</font><br>
<font color="#000000"></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">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."</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
"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."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
"Look at Idaho Power," Copple said. "They condemn for
power lines all the time."<br>
<br>
Conservation groups contend that Simplot would be subverting the law
if it applied eminent domain in this case.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Now, he said, "The big Goliath is beating up on David."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
"This alternative would have the least amount of impact,"
Phillips said.<br>
<br>
The Riedes say the impact will be significant. They hope to build a
3,000-square-foot home near the proposed road site.<br>
<br>
"We had a lot of trouble finding the place we wanted," Peter
Riede said. "Places like this are pretty hard to come
by."<br>
<br>
---<br>
<br>
Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com<br>
<br>
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