Eminent Domain Act

The Eminent Domain Act governs the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use, identifying which parties may exercise the power of condemnation and the purposes for which they may do so. It extends that authority to public bodies acting for road and public improvement projects and to a range of utilities and other undertakings — railroads, dam and electric companies, gas and pipeline operators, telephone and water providers, cemetery associations, and, in narrow circumstances, private owners seeking a water supply or access to a public road. Alongside those grants, it prescribes how a condemnation action is instituted, conditions certain takings on governmental approval, and sets limits on the power, including property that cannot be condemned at all and restrictions on the rights a condemnor obtains.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.