Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst made the following statement in response to the Public Service Commission’s granting of the Grain Belt Express application for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity:
“The Public Service Commission should not have granted the Grain Belt Express application. Private land should not be taken by eminent domain for the sole benefit of private investors. This is especially true when their company is not subject to state regulatory oversight with responsibilities to ratepayers.
“This decision sets precedent for private companies to buy land on the cheap and profit at the expense of Missouri citizens. The company is also clearly financially incapable of following through on its promises, and its acquisition by a potential financing partner has not been fully vetted. Allowing the project to proceed places hundreds of Missouri landowners at risk of having their land taken for a project that may never be completed.”
