Watch out for energy easements

To the Editor, 

Recently, on a warm fall day, I stopped at my 77-year-old father-in-law’s farmhouse because he was meeting with a salesman for the fourth time regarding a transmission line easement. I walked into his sun porch to find four men with the sole purpose of persuading him to sign. Weeks later, he had to chase off surveyors who were trespassing on his property. 

Stories of wind salesmen tell us that they manipulate retirees with phrases such as “you’ll leave a ‘green’ legacy,” “the turbine will pay for your nursing home,” and “you’re leaving income for your grandchildren.” 

In the case of transmission lines, they tell of the “need for upgrades so that nobody goes without electricity” and “this line is needed because there might be a storm, and someone may die,” followed with “sign here.” 

Do not sign an easement that would affect the legacy of your land, and never sign anything without an attorney present. Easement law is not common knowledge in Iowa as it is in the West where landowners have dealt with water or mineral rights for generations; get an attorney who understands easement law and is not already retained by an energy company.

Kim Brenneman

Parnell, Iowa