COUNTY COURTHOUSE —The power utility that lost its eminent domain case against Berea College in court last week, has filed an appeal. The appeal will be heard in the appellate court in Frankfort. A court date is expected to be set by the end of this week, according to a county circuit court official.

On Tuesday, April 7, Medrith Lee Norman, outside counsel for the Winchester-based East Kentucky Power Cooperative, filed the appeal in the Madison County Circuit Court, where the case was heard in February. The Honorable Kristin Clouse presided.

On Thursday, April 2, Clouse ruled against EKPC in its bid to condemn about a mile of the Berea College Forest in order to build eight and a half miles of a new transmission line through it. The power co-op has said it needs to build the line to maintain reliable service in the southern portion of the County.

EKPC had sued for interlocutory judgement in the case last summer after the College refused to take a buy-out for the woodland property. In her written decision, Clouse cited the utility's abuse of discretion and lack of community outreach while finalizing its plan to run the line through the over 9,000 acres of the College's research and recreational forest.

Clouse leaned heavily in her decision on the testimony of Berea College forester, Clint Patterson, who spoke of the unique history of the forest and its importance to forestry science in this country, among other extraordinary aspects of the property that spans across southern Madison and Northern Jackson counties.

"If EKPC does not consider the unique quality of the land proposed to be taken, including the factors enumerated above, no one does," Clouse wrote, stating that EKPC had committed "an abuse of discretion" when wielding the "immense" power of the right for utilities to take land granted by the Commonwealth.

After Clouse issued her ruling, EKPC spokesperson, Nick Comer, told The Edge in a statement that the utility was "disappointed" in the ruling and that, "EKPC took an objective approach to siting the transmission line to minimize the overall impact on property owners, the environment and cooperative members."

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