Takings
A fairly dry but readable foundation for understanding the seizure and transfer of private property.
"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men...” — John Adams (1776)
Evaluating the actions of public officials and private corporations - and the statutes they claim as their authority - needs to be viewed through a Constitutional lens. Often, the test of whether a law is Constitutional isn’t made until it is challenged. Although courts and lawfare have muddled plain language over time, the founding documents are straightforward and you should be familiar with them.
Private vs Not-So-Private Property
Eminent domain is The power of a government to take private property for public use without the owner's consent. That comes from two parts of the phrase: eminent (superior) and domain (ownership of land). Neither of these terms exist in the US Constitution.
The word property appears in the US Constitution four times, once referring to regulation of property owned by the United States, and the other three times in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments referring to private property:
...nor [shall any person] be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The South Dakota Constitution has a number of provisions regarding individual property rights, including these listed in Article VI: Bill of Rights:
1. ...have certain inherent rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring and protecting property...
2. ...No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
13. ...Private property shall not be taken for public use, or damaged, without just compensation, which will be determined according to legal procedure established by the Legislature...
20. ...All courts shall be open, and every man for an injury done him in his property, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice, administered without denial or delay.
The South Dakota Constitution talks about eminent domain in two sections of Article XVII: Corporations.
4. ... and the exercise of the police power of the state shall never be abridged or so construed as to permit corporations to conduct their business in such manner as to infringe the equal rights of individuals or the general well-being of the state.
18. ... Municipal and other corporations and individuals invested with the privilege of taking private property for public use shall make just compensation for property taken, injured or destroyed, by the construction or enlargement of their works... The Legislature is hereby prohibited from depriving any person of an appeal from any preliminary assessment of damages against any such corporation or individuals made by viewers or otherwise; and the amount of such damages in all cases of appeal shall, on the demand of either party, be determined by a jury as in other civil cases.
A lot of the SD codified LAWS (not Constitution) are hard to read, but this one is easy:
If it’s good for government commissions, why isn’t it good for government regulation of private pipeline companies?