Baker City couple seeks to dismiss Idaho Power’s condemnation lawsuit for Boardman-to-Hemingway power line

Published 8:00 am Thursday, September 26, 2024

A Baker City couple whose property near Huntington is along the route of the Boardman-to-Hemingway power line has asked a judge to dismiss a condemnation lawsuit that Idaho Power Company filed earlier this year seeking an easement across their land.

Tel and Lacey Abbe own the 314-acre property just south of Interstate 84 between Huntington and Farewell Bend.

Their attorney, Andrew Martin of Baker City, filed a motion for summary judgment — in effect, asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit — on July 23.

Idaho Power’s attorneys, Tim Helfrich and Zach Olson of Ontario, filed the condemnation suit May 20 in Baker County Circuit Court.

Helfrich filed a response to the summary judgment motion on Aug. 26, claiming the Abbes did not meet the standard for dismissal.

A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. in Baker County Circuit Court.

The condemnation lawsuit is one of at least four that Idaho Power has filed against Baker County property owners related to the 293-mile Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line.

Also known as eminent domain, condemnation is a legal process in which a judge or jury orders a property owner to sell land, or an easement, to make possible a particular project, and decides the price.

Eminent domain lawsuits can be filed by public agencies, such as a state department of transportation to acquire land for a highway or other project, or, as in this case, by a private firm.

Idaho Power is seeking a 160-foot-wide easement, totaling about 17.5 acres, across the Abbes’ property for the power line and an access road, according to the lawsuit.

The company has offered $28,470 for the easement, according to the lawsuit.

In his motion for summary judgment, Martin, the Abbes’ attorney, wrote that the lawsuit includes language about “warranties” and “covenants” that would make the Abbes a “title insurer for Idaho Power,” and that the couple “would be liable to Idaho Power for anyone who holds a property interest in the property at issue that Idaho Power may have left out or failed to include in this condemnation action.”

Those liabilities exceed the limits of condemnation under Oregon law, Martin contends.

In his response to the motion, Helfrich argued that Martin’s motion has a “fundamental misunderstanding of the condemnation process.” Helfrich contends that the inclusion of “warranties” and “covenants” does not impose the requirements on the Abbes that Martin contends.

Other condemnation suits for B2H

Helfrich and Olson filed two such lawsuits in Baker County Circuit Court on June 18, both for properties in the Durkee area.

Idaho Power is seeking easements totaling almost 34 acres from Mathew and Amy Haas, who own a 1,390-acre parcel south of Interstate 84 near the Ash Grove Cement plant. The company wants an easement totaling about 28.3 acres for the powerline itself, and about 5.6 acres for an access road.

The total value of the easements is $36,250, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in the second suit are Levi and Amanda Bunch, who own a 395-acre parcel near the Burnt River Canyon Road west of Durkee.

Idaho Power is seeking an easement totaling 8.5 acres for the powerline, and 4.2 acres for an access road.

The value of the easements is $33,990, according to the lawsuit.

No court hearings are scheduled on either the Haas or Bunch lawsuits.

The first condemnation suit, also filed by Helfrich and Olson on Idaho Power’s behalf, was filed in September 2023 against Scott and Kylie Gressley of Baker City.

Although the lawsuit is pending, Judge Matt Shirtcliff of Baker County Circuit Court on Feb. 28, 2024, gave Idaho Power permission to enter the Gressleys’ property, along Interstate 84 about 5 miles southeast of Baker City, to build the power line.

Shirtcliff ordered Idaho Power to pay the Gressleys $83,960 for the easement.

The company had offered $18,960.

The Gressleys had asked for $392,542.50, arguing that they should be compensated for the long-term loss of value for the property, which they use for cattle grazing.

A trial in the lawsuit is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2025.

B2H history

The 293-mile-long line, first proposed in 2007, will run from near Hermiston to the Hemingway substation in Owyhee County, Idaho.

Oregon and Idaho state agencies have approved construction of the power line. Idaho Power and its partner, PacifiCorp, say the line is needed to handle growing demand for electricity that existing transmission lines can’t accommodate.

Although Idaho Power has overseen the project, PacifiCorp has a 55% ownership in the line, Idaho Power 45%.

Opponents, led by the Stop B2H Coalition, based in La Grande, dispute the companies’ claims that the power line is needed.

The opponents say the construction and operation of B2H could cause a variety of problems, including spreading noxious weeds and increasing the risk of wildfire.