LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The fight over the Bullitt County pipeline proposal continued in court Monday.
Several lawsuits have been filed against LG&E and its plan to build a new pipeline. Two groups of Bullitt County property owners want a judge to clarify a previous ruling that lets LG&E condemn their land for the project.
The ruling in favor of LG&E gives the utility the ability to condemn nearly all the remaining land it needs for the pipeline that would run along an east-west route south of Mt. Washington and Shepherdsville.
The property owners say Bullitt Circuit Judge Rodney Burress didn't address whether the "primary purpose" of the pipeline is to benefit Jim Beam or the public interest.
In a May 28 motion, attorney Thomas E. Clay said Kentucky law requires Burress to determine whether property is being condemned for a public or private purpose. That didn’t happen, he wrote.
“A public entity cannot take private land to benefit directly a private company first, and then benefit the public second,” Clay said. “Evidence suggests that Jim Beam is instrumental in the procurement and placement of this pipeline.”
Meanwhile, in hearings before the Kentucky Public Service Commission this spring, LG&E officials said the estimated cost of the project has nearly tripled, to $74.2 million, from initial projections of $27.4 million.
On Monday, Clay said in an email that Burress has heard their argument, but it will take him "a while" to reach a decision.
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