Power Line and Meeting and Eminent Domain
On Monday night, November 18th, about 300 concerned citizens from Kingfisher, Garfield, and surrounding counties attended a public meeting at the Enid Expo Center. The meeting was about the planned major powerline corridor through northern Oklahoma.
Joe Keegan, newly elected Garfield County District 1 Commissioner, addressed the audience and Outlined the key Issues with the two proposed energy projects, which include two high-voltage direct current transmission lines proposed from the Panhandle to Tulsa. The proposed transmission corridor covers 18 Oklahoma counties, including Kingfisher County, which is 4 to 18 miles wide and is 646 miles long.
One line is part of the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC), and the other is owned by a private company. Oklahoma State Representative Mike Dobrinski stressed the lack of notification and local government involvement by corporations.
Enid attorney David Henneke said he was representing the Bryan family from Hennessey, which has been the first to be sued because they refused to allow a required survey. Henneke said he was new to this, like everyone else, and didn’t know about it until just a few weeks ago.
Henneke said he spoke with the Arkansas attorney involved in pre-condemnation surveys, and he said they need to conform, or they will be sued. The topic that was stressed over and over throughout the meeting was the lack of notification to any public official, including county commissioners, State Representatives, or Senators. There was a lot of discussion on the rights of corporations to exercise eminent domain.
During the meeting, all of the speakers stressed the need for calls for legislative action to protect private property rights, Coordination with state representatives and senators, and more community involvement.
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