LOUISVILLE, Ky. — LG&E, the Isaac W. Bernheim Foundation and the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board are in Bullitt Circuit Court this week for a civil bench trial to decide what happens next with property owned by Bernheim.
As part of a plan that has been in the works for years, LG&E says it needs to condemn a portion of the land for a new 12-mile pipeline in Bullitt County.
LG&E attorney Monica Braun argued that there is a “clear public use” for the pipeline.
“As we stand here, there are thousands of Bullitt County natural gas customers who are served from a single pipeline with a one-way feed and should that pipeline fail, thousands of customers are at risk of losing their heat,” she said in her opening statement.
Chief Operating Officer Lonnie Bellar testified that the company has denied 600 requests for service because of a lack of capacity.
Bernheim argues that there is no legitimate public need for the pipeline, that the Commonwealth of Kentucky owns a property interest in the land, and that state law doesn’t give the right to condemn public property interest held by state government.
The land is important for endangered species and protected by conservation easements, said Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest’s executive director, Mark Wourms.
“We own this land,” Wourms told Spectrum News 1. “However, in purchasing that land, we did it with taxpayer money and because of that, there are public conservation easements and deed restrictions on that land, so this becomes public land. And because of that, the eminent domain criteria should not be applied on public lands. It’s only applicable for private.”
Several opponents to the pipeline attended the first day of the trial and wore “Save Bernheim Now” t-shirts.
Bernheim argued in court documents that “the primary use of the subject property and LG&E’s eminent domain authority is to construct a pipeline to allow Jim Beam’s facility to access additional gas.”
Bellar denied the pipeline would primarily serve Jim Beam.
Natasha Collins, director of media relations for LG&E and KU, provided the following statement:
“We look forward to the opportunity to present evidence as we work to resolve outstanding issues related to the proposed pipeline route along an existing transmission line north of the public Bernheim forest. We remain committed to this much needed project, which was approved by the KPSC in 2017, as we seek to enhance reliability for current customers in the area and to support the energy needs of this quickly growing region.”