Eminent Domain in Western Pennsylvania

Protecting Property Owners from Government and Utility Overreach

At Thiele Law, we represent landowners throughout Western Pennsylvania whose properties are being threatened or taken by government entities, utilities, or energy companies under the guise of “public necessity.”

The power of eminent domain allows government and certain corporations to take private land for “public use” — but when that power is expanded or misused, private citizens often pay the price. Over the past two decades, Western Pennsylvania’s energy build-out — power plants, pipelines, and electric-transmission expansions — has triggered a surge in condemnation actions that many believe go far beyond what the law intended.

 

Understanding Pennsylvania’s Eminent Domain System

Under Pennsylvania’s Eminent Domain Code (Title 26 Pa.C.S.), a condemnor must show that:

1. The taking serves a public use or public purpose;

2. The condemnor has legal authority to take property; and

3. The owner receives just compensation for what is taken or damaged.

After the Kelo decision in 2005, Pennsylvania enacted the Property Rights Protection Act (2006), which prohibits takings for private enterprise. But the Act left a powerful loophole for public utilities — companies that hold a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC).

Those utilities — and, in practice, their corporate affiliates — can condemn property for pipelines, power lines, and substations if they claim the project serves the “public convenience and necessity.”

 

How Energy Growth Is Expanding Eminent-Domain Power

1. New Generation, More Flow, More Condemnations

The closure of coal plants and the rise of natural-gas-fired generation have reshaped Pennsylvania’s grid. Projects such as the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station and the planned Homer City redevelopment feed massive amounts of new energy into existing transmission systems.

To carry that energy, utilities must upgrade or rebuild transmission corridors — often through farmland, forest, and private residential property. Each new line, voltage increase, or right-of-way expansion gives utilities fresh grounds to claim “necessity” and seek new easements through eminent domain.

In effect, more power through the lines means more land under threat.

Where older 115- or 230-kV corridors once sufficed, many are now being replaced with 345-kV or higher-capacity lines, requiring wider clear-cut swaths and taller towers. The higher electromagnetic loads also raise health, safety, and property-value concerns, but the condemnation process leaves little room for owners to object once the CPC is issued.

 

2. Energy “Bottlenecks” and the PJM Mandate

The PJM Interconnection (the regional grid operator) routinely orders transmission upgrades to relieve congestion and meet reliability standards. Those orders often become the justification for eminent-domain filings. The problem: the upgrades primarily benefit private generators and markets, while landowners bear the intrusion.

Utilities argue that more power flow benefits everyone; yet the financial gain from moving additional megawatts across private land accrues to private power producers and transmission investors, not the local residents whose properties are cut, cleared, or devalued.

 

3. The “Public Use” Label, Stretched to Its Limits

Pennsylvania courts continue to accept the argument that transporting or transmitting energy is a “public use,” even when the end customers are industrial export facilities, data centers, or out-of-state buyers. This interpretation has allowed corporations to exercise the coercive power of government to seize easements for what is, in reality, a private energy-commerce network.

That expansion of definition — from public infrastructure to private throughput — represents one of the most controversial modern abuses of eminent domain.

 

How Expanded Energy Flow Can Harm Property Owners

1. Wider Easements and Setbacks
   Higher-voltage lines require broader rights-of-way and more aggressive tree-clearing, permanently reducing property value and usability.

2. Increased Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)
   Modern lines carrying more power emit stronger EMFs, which can affect farming operations, interfere with electronics, and create perceived health risks that diminish resale value.

3. Noise and Visual Impact
   Upgraded lines and substations often generate continuous humming, arcing, and nighttime light pollution — factors the law rarely compensates for adequately.

4. Stigmatization and Insurance Issues
   Properties adjacent to large-capacity transmission corridors may suffer market stigma that persists long after construction. Some insurers even limit coverage for crop or equipment losses near high-voltage installations.

5. Environmental and Runoff Damage
   New corridors often alter drainage, create erosion, and destroy woodlots that previously shielded noise and wind.

 

Why Western Pennsylvania Is Ground Zero

• Dense energy infrastructure — Homer City, Keystone, Conemaugh, Tenaska, and numerous compressor stations — sits in the middle of Westmoreland, Indiana, and Armstrong Counties.

• A web of transmission and gathering lines connects these plants to PJM’s regional grid, creating overlapping utility jurisdictions.

• Redevelopment of coal sites into gas and renewable hubs is spurring another wave of line expansion and easement requests.

All of this makes Western PA one of the most active condemnation regions in the state — and the most prone to abuse of the “public-use” standard.

 

What Landowners Can Do

If you receive a notice, letter, or “Declaration of Taking,” time is critical. Pennsylvania law gives you 30 days to file formal objections. After that, your right to challenge the taking itself is lost.

At Thiele Law, we:

• Investigate whether the condemnor truly qualifies as a public utility corporation;

• Examine the PUC docket and CPC authority underlying the project;

• Evaluate whether the expanded power flow actually benefits the public or primarily serves private profits; and

• Assemble expert appraisers and engineers to quantify before-and-after value losses from new or upgraded transmission lines.

Our mission is to hold condemning authorities accountable and to ensure that any taking is lawful, necessary, and fully compensated.

 

Stand Up for Your Property Rights

Eminent domain was never meant to be a blank check for energy companies. If your land is being targeted for a pipeline, power-line upgrade, or utility easement, you have rights — but only if you act quickly.

Contact Thiele Law today to schedule a confidential consultation.
We’ll help you understand the process, challenge unlawful takings, and fight for the full value of your property.