Real Estate & Property Law

Power Line Expansion

By Alan Ackerman

Harvard Law Record

President Barack Obama '91's plans for energy and climate-change policy could alter the balance of power between the federal and state governments, according to Adam White '04, an Associate at Baker Botts LLP who specialized in energy litigation.

White spoke on Monday, April 20 at an event co-sponsored by the Harvard Federalist Society and the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

White, who clerked for Judge David Sentelle of the D.C. Circuit after his graduation from HLS, described his job- litigating constitutional and regulatory issues specific to the energy industry, particularly at the appellate level-as "the most interesting job in energy law."

According to White, pursuing President Obama's goals for energy and climate-change reform will require making choices about the allocation of power between the federal and state governments, creating tension that White described as having been "strangely overlooked."

Because energy infrastructure often crosses state lines, the federal government may seek to pre-empt state regulations. Most statutes, however, give the states "out-and-out vetoes" over federal projects, White said.

This can create a set of complex interactions that White referred to as "the Adam White full-employment plan." "When Congress thinks its making things easy, it usually isn't making things easy," White said. "Congress needs to make clear what they are doing with state and federal power."

Realistically, there are two conflicts at hand with the proposed power line expansion. First, is the potential for conflict between federal and state decision making processes. The second conflict arises out of the fact the utility companies are for profit entities all the while using the cloak of 'public use' to condemn private property. This problem is exacerbated by a complete lack of state utility public service commission restraint and review.      

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on May 07, 2009 (boomark / email).