PUC Begins TransCanada Pipeline Hearings Today

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission begins ten days of public hearings on the proposed TransCanada Keystone pipeline today at 9:30 a.m. in Pierre. You can listen to the hearing live online (*.rm -- Real Media format). For the less multimedia inclined, you can read the filed testimony on the PUC docket and see if TransCanada gets its way on its request to stifle any mention of eminent domain or other landowner issues from the discussion.

By the way, on that motion in limine, that Sioux Falls paper reports that the PUC should rule right off the bat this morning on whether it will limit the scope of the hearing to what TransCanada wants. (Sure, let's let foreign corporations define the scope of our public legal inquiries.) The paper notes that back in June, our man Dusty offered a pretty clear picture of the PUC's authority:

At one of its public meetings in Yankton in June, PUC Chairman Dusty Johnson outlined the commission's authority. He said its grounds for deciding to issue or withhold a permit for Keystone are based on environmental impacts, whether Keystone would adversely affect the orderly development of the region through which it passes and whether it would create undue safety and welfare hazards [Peter Harriman, "PUC Opens Pipeline Hearings Monday," that Sioux Falls paper, 2007.12.02].

Orderly development, public welfare... hmmm, sounds like eminent domain is perfectly relevant. If the land deals TransCanada is trying to force on some landowners would inhibit their economic development, then those dealings are within the scope of the hearing.

But that's my totally unprofessional, grossly biased opinion. I'm only friends with landowners, not lawyers and foreign corporate executives.