New York Limits Eminent Domain By Private Companies

"The new law restricts the use of eminent domain to build certain high-voltage electricity transmission lines, particularly the 190-mile-long proposed line that would run from Utica in upstate New York to the Hudson Valley, and from there into New York City and Long Island."

"By limiting the use of eminent domain, the law would make it hard for the private company planning to build the line, the New York Regional Interconnect, to gain control of the land it needs in 37 towns and villages in seven counties throughout the state."

"The measure signed by Mr. Pataki prohibits private transmission companies from using eminent domain to condemn land. But the criteria in the law are so specific that they appear to apply only to the N.Y.R.I. project."

"The project drew criticism in many towns of the Delaware Valley because both proposed routes touched on or passed through the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River corridor, a picturesque 73-mile stretch of the Delaware River that is home to nesting bald eagles."