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EC IL | If its a new line, it has to be approved through the ICC. There are important dates which you have to file your case against the line. We fought Ameren on there Illinois Rivers Project a few years ago. They told us of the primary route and a secondary route, We had the primary route going across 2 1/2 miles of our farm ground and up against 2 new houses. Us along with several neighbors fought it, and fortunately pushed it away. When they chose there route it became apparent they only looked at the cheapest route to get from a to b. Once the dust settled in court it was proven to them that they were crossing for probably 1 mile of ground that was being mined for limestone. This meant blasting and higher land values, due to the value of the minerals, which I feel was the biggest reason for re location. Other things that make important differences are conservation projects and bald Eagle habitat areas. This ordeal meant for 2 years of stress, and a lot of time spent building a case against a huge company that told us we could not stop there project from coming through us. It has been around 5 years ago and there project is still in the court room for the eastern leg of the line. If there is a line coming through near you, pay attention, and get organized with your neighbors. At one time this line was pushed 20 miles north of either route that the public was told it would go. Hundreds of people fought it to get it finally pushed to its original secondary route. When the final route was chosen, most people in the path had not hired attorneys, and by that time had missed important deadlines to file against it. In our deal, we made one 2 hour drive to the attorneys office and the rest of our time fighting it was done either through emails or phone calls, and Fax messages. And yes it was expensive, however when you hire a good law firm who regularly fight the big utility companies, and are representing several parties on the same case, they share a lot of information, which saves them a lot of time. A lot of land owners got paid some large amounts of money, However don't forget Uncle Sam gets the first portion of that check, and your land value is forever effected. I won't even get into the health concerns, or the effect on satellite signals etc.. | |
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New power line easement
